DOVER – The House passed two bills on Tuesday aimed at guiding the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and addressing emerging threats from developing technology.
Together, these measures, both sponsored by Rep. Krista Griffith and Sen. Stephanie Hansen, would establish a commission to advise on AI use and safety in our state and create penalties for the dissemination of sexually explicit deep fakes.
“AI technology is an extremely powerful tool used by a growing number of industries and private citizens in their everyday life. While it has the potential to positively transform our state, it also has the potential to harm innocent Delawareans,” said Rep. Krista Griffith.
“We are at a critical juncture where we must act quickly to establish a framework for the responsible use of AI tech, and prevent the violation of any individual’s rights. We must also recognize the harm that is already being caused by AI in the creation of deep fakes, and ensure that victims are able to seek justice against those who wrongfully disclosed their image.”
House Bill 333 would create the Delaware Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) Commission, a formal body tasked with making recommendations to the General Assembly and Department of Technology and Information on AI utilization and safety within our state.
One of the primary responsibilities of the AI Commission would be to conduct a comprehensive inventory of all Generative AI usage within Delaware’s executive, legislative, and judicial agencies and identify high-risk areas in each. By identifying these high-risk areas for the implementation of Generative AI, the commission would work to ensure AI technologies are deployed in a manner that keeps Delawareans safe and does not violate any individual’s rights.
The commission would be required to submit an annual report to the General Assembly detailing its progress in the previous year, its goals for the upcoming year, and any recommendations for legislation, administrative actions, or policy changes.
Twelve states have enacted legislation aimed at regulating AI use and development. At the federal level, a bipartisan group of senators published a framework to guide forthcoming AI legislation.
HB 353 would provide civil and criminal remedies for the wrongful disclosure of deep fakes that depict individuals in the nude or engaging in sexual conduct.
A “deep fake” is a form of synthetic media that appears to depict a real individual saying or doing something that did not actually occur.
It has the power to give someone a fundamentally different understanding or impression of the appearance, action, or speech of the individual than they would have gotten from an unaltered, original version of the image, audio recording, or video recording.
“I am grateful to Rep. Griffith and my colleagues in the House for voting today to support critical protections for Delawareans in the face of this new technology,” said Sen. Hansen, Senate Prime Sponsor of HB 353 and HB 333.
“Deep fakes are potentially just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the new challenges we’ll face as artificial intelligence begins to reshape our approach to employment, transportation, education and so many other facets of our lives. The Delaware Artificial Intelligence Commission will play a crucial role in helping us prepare for that new frontier and look forward to passing these bills out of the Senate in the coming weeks.”
In addition, the bill would also create more severe penalties for adults who create visual depictions of minors in a sexual manner. Rather than a misdemeanor prosecution, the adult would be subject to a felony prosecution.
Both bills will now go to the Senate for consideration.