AI Disclosure is Necessary

Senator Alex Padilla

255, E Temple St., Suite 1860,

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Dear Senator Padilla,

As one of the Senators of California, you have a very important role in actively staying involved in current issues of the modern world and creating legislation that can helps guide citizens to follow a moral and ethical path. As you have mentioned in your press conference on September 27, 2023, the new widespread use of artificial intelligence in many areas such as education, media, healthcare, and advertisements can have many benefits like streamlining difficult processes and assisting individuals in many ways (Padilla 2023). The danger lies in the potential for people to use A.I. to generate or replicate pieces of work such as ideas, writings, images, music, and videos and claiming them as their own. Since current copyright laws have yet to be updated to include protections regarding artificial intelligence, I argue that there should be regulation to ensure that anyone who used artificial intelligence to create any form of media must disclose it. The required disclosure of A.I. will not only protect current artists from themselves or their work being stolen, but it will also promote authenticity in the spaces it is used.

In the new world of artificial intelligence, artists, musicians, writers, and entertainers have to worry about their work or even their likeness being manipulated and altered by A.I.. Some programs such as FakeYou have the ability to analyze the voices of individuals and replicate it to say anything. Others like MidJourney can create artwork similar to whomever the user asks of it (Minasyan 2023). While these are impressive advancements in technology, the dangers of these products if placed in the wrong hands make it even more apparent that regulation for disclosure is necessary. For instance, defamation is one of the biggest potential issues that could arise if this issue is not addressed. Giving any individual the ability to manipulate and control someone else’s voice poses many risks. In this world of polarity and cancel culture, one clip or soundbite of a public figure saying or doing the wrong thing could ruin their career. Also, allowing people to replicate and alter real artists’ work using A.I. could completely crumble the integrity of media. Artists could find themselves competing against the virtual versions of them and since those versions are often free to users, it could pose a risk to the value placed in real artists.

Considering the power and future possibilities of artificial intelligence, it is to be assumed that it will only expand in as time continues. Promoting regulations and ensuring transparency of the use of A.I. now will create a more authentic and safe space for the future. The goal is to enforce that individuals reveal their A.I. use and give credit to the inspirations or ideas they inputted into a text box to generate their work. This can create a new avenue of media and not infringe upon real people or their creations. One example of spokespeople for this issue is Dr. Mohammed Hosseini and his colleagues, who have all studied and compared the ethics of A.I. disclosure regarding written medical texts. While A.I. generative chatbots can generate desired responses from text prompts, it still isn’t an individual entity that has the ability to think and process the way that humans do. This raises issues of reliability and trustworthiness of works that have not been thoroughly fact-checked. Because of this, it has been deemed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors that it is problematic to designate authorship to A.I.. With this, it has opened the doors for many to have used A.I. assistance in the past, without disclosing it. This has prompted the ideal of Accountability within the medical writing field. They use the word accountability because it is an action to use A.I., so ideally one must take accountability if they produce work that is aided in any part by A.I. (Hosseini 461). This approach to the problem would be very helpful if implemented. A simple note detailing what in the piece of work was contributed to by artificial intelligence shows the consumer of the media that there is an artificial influence in the text and gives them complete clarity on the origins of the ideas presented.

Some may argue that limiting citizen’s use of artificial intelligence interferes with their first amendment right to “Free Speech.” While one can agree that everyone should be ensured their unalienable rights, there are limitations to each of them. Regulations such as permits prevent people from starting a protest whenever they want. Certain rules and guidelines like these, help ensure that individuals have a safer experience and don’t infringe upon others’ rights while exercising theirs. Enforcing the disclosure of A.I. will have a similar effect and will ensure that individuals do not commit plagiarism even without intent to do so (Lung 2023). This only creates protection for every party and ensures that consumers will be knowledgeable on the origin of the information they are receiving. The ability for this openness to be common would truly prevent some of the fears and dangers that arise with the wide spreading of A.I. use.

It is no argument that artificial intelligence is very impressive. It has the ability to gather and condense information and even create art. With these advancements it is up to us and our political leaders to pave the way to creating a safe and ethical future. Regulation ensuring that users of A.I. take accountability and disclose their use will help protect artists and their likeness and ensure authenticity and understanding when approaching pieces of work. Penalizing individuals is not something that I usually would want to fight for, but protecting artists, creators, and writers is very important. While A.I. may be our future, their ideas are what artificial intelligence is drawing from to produce “original” pieces for others. Ensuring that credit is always given to its creator, should be a major priority.

Thank you,

Gregory Ferraro