Ansari Introduces Bill to Prevent Malicious AI Impersonation of Federal Officials

Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) has introduced legislation to counter the malicious use of artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate federal officials.

Aptly named the AI Impersonation Prevention Act, Rep. Ansari's bill prohibits and imposes criminal penalties for making AI impersonations of the President, Vice President, any Cabinet member, White House official, or member of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) with malicious intent, as no federal law currently exists against it.

Exceptions and guardrails for parodies, satire, and other usage of AI as entertainment with clear disclaimers will be included.

In July, a fraudster attempted to contact at least three foreign ministers while posing as State Secretary Marco Rubio.

"There have been multiple recent incidents of AI being used to falsely impersonate federal officials, posing a grave threat to our national security," said Rep. Ansari in her press release, adding, "AI will only continue to become more powerful and accessible, so we must act now to establish stringent guardrails and accountability–that's why we need my AI Impersonation Prevention Act."

In the same month as the Rubio impersonation incident, Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) chaired a House Judiciary Committee hearing with several tech experts about this very same issue.

"What do you do if there is a deepfake of any other public figure, and you have that person say something that is pernicious, bad, or politically inflammatory?" Rep. Biggs asked, "What laws do we have in place that would prohibit that, or is it just the Wild, Wild West?"

Additionally, Rep. Biggs inquired about the nature of AI-generated scams impersonating family members and AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), saying, "What remedy does someone have when they are a victim of this type of generative AI?"

Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Dr. Andrew Bowne, one of the hearing's witnesses, said that protections for victims of these crimes are currently in place, but gaps remain to be plugged.