Taylor Swift performed at the National Stadium in Singapore on March 2nd. Ashok Kumar – TAS24 – Getty Images
Could artificial intelligence (AI) already be out of control, posing a growing threat to women’s safety? It’s just a part of it. Sexual exploitation and the normalization of violent images are on the rise, and AI is opening up new ways to exploit and harass women.
My work as the second black president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), the largest women’s rights organization in the country, and my personal background as a licensed social worker and mental health professional have inspired me to do what I need to do. It is now clear what must be done. To stop the mental suffering and long-term harm that occurs online.
Congress and state legislatures have responded, but questions remain. Are they acting quickly enough? And how enforceable is their action?
The dark side of AI
Today, there is a new type of theft that preys on women. It is the theft of our bodily autonomy. When it happens to people in the spotlight, it creates a media sensation, but 99.9% of victims of deepfakes and online sexual abuse never fight back like superstars or the damage subsides. I can’t even wait. Fake images cause real damage to reputation and self-esteem, and destroy privacy.
Women are the first to be exploited, attacked, and abused online in the most invasive ways possible. And with the advent of AI, threats are changing every day. That’s why it’s so important to lobby lawmakers both in Washington, D.C. and in our states to protect women from the dark side of AI.
Bumble, a female-led dating and social networking app, surveyed its community and found that 1 in 3 women had been sent unsolicited lewd images, according to Pew Research Center 2021. The survey similarly found that 33% of women under 35 reported experiencing sexual harassment online. .
what is written in the law
Although there is no federal law that makes it illegal to create or distribute deepfake pornography, there are laws in place to address this danger. His AI-generated image of Taylor Swift has sparked new proposals and calls to action, but so far none of them have materialized.
Representative Joseph Morrell (D-NY-25), along with 40 co-sponsors, How to prevent deepfakes of intimate imageswill make it illegal to share altered or deepfake intimate images online without consent, and will prosecute offenders and make them pay compensation.
The U.S. Senate passed what is being called a bipartisan bill. anti-rebellion law This would be the first federal law to ban non-consensual deepfake pornography. The bill was sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Sen. Dick Durban (D-IL), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Sen. Josh Hawley. Introduced by Rep. (R-Missouri) Laws on violence against womenhas received the latest re-authorization to prevent and prosecute cybercrime.
We must rally public support for these laws, and even state laws.
According to Axios, nearly all active state legislatures are considering AI-related bills, and nearly half of them deal with deepfakes. As of early February, there were 407 AI-related bills, up from 67 a year ago.
At least 10 states have passed deepfake laws, including Georgia, Hawaii, Texas, and Virginia. California and Illinois give victims the right to sue.
The conversations happening today among elected officials, government agencies, technology companies, and consumers will determine the impact AI will have on people and society for generations to come. . It took the government more than a decade to understand the changes brought about by social media platforms, but he cannot wait another decade, or even five years, to take the next step.
We need to update the rules and strengthen the online guardrails that were created when AI was the prediction of a sci-fi movie. Here, AI is reinforcing a culture of toxic masculinity, misogyny, and abuse. It may not be long before we seize this moment and protect women from online abuse.
Christian F. Nunez, MBA, MS, LCSW, is president of the National Organization for Women.
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