Years. Good afternoon, everyone, im honored to call this hearing to order. Im pleased to be here with my colleague senator fisher wearing her pin with ruby red slippers symbolizing theres no place like home. This place in washington is on our minds. Thank you, senator merkley for being here and we have other members attending as well and i want to thank Ranking Member fisher and her staff for working with us on this hearing on Artificial Intelligence in the future of our elections. I want to introduce i will introduce our witnesses shortly but we are joined by minnesota secretary of state steve, vast experience in running elections and well respected in our state and nationally, trevor potter, former fbc commissioner and chair. Thank you for being here. Maya wiler, we are going to hear Ranking Member fisher will be introducing two remaining witnesses. We thank you for being here neil and ari cohn, Free Speech Council at tech freedom. Like any emerging technology, ai comes with significant risk and our laws need to keep up. Some of the risks are already clear starting with security which includes protecting our critical infrastructure, guarding against cyberattacks, staying ahead of foreign adversaries. We must also protect our innovation economy including the people who produce content and countering the alarming rise in criminals using ai to scam people. Confronting these issues is a mayor bipartisan focused where two weeks ago we convened the first in a series forums organized by leader schumer and senators round and young and senator heinrich to discuss this sandwich with experts of all backgrounds, industry union, nonprofit across the spectrum in their views. Today were here to focus, hone in on a particular risk of ai. Thats a risk that it poses for our elections and how we address them. Given the stakes for our democracy, we cannot afford to wait. So the hope is we can move on some of this by yearend with some of the legislation which already has bipartisan support to be able to get it done with some larger legislation. As i noted we are already seeing this technology being used to generate viral misleading content, content to spread disinformation and to see voters. There was an ai generated video, for instance, posted on twitter of one of my colleagues, senator warren, in which a fake senator warren said that people from the opposing party shouldnt be able to vote. She never said that but it looked like her. The video was seen by nearly 200,000 users in a week and ai generated content has already began to appear in political ads. There was one ai generated image of former President Trump hugging dr. Fauci that was actually a fake. The problem for voters is that people arent going to be able to distinguish if its the opposing candidate or their own candidate, if its them talking or not. That is untenable in a democracy. Can create voice recordings that sound like President Biden or other elected officials from any party and this means computer can put words in the mouth of a leader. That would pose a problem during emergency situation like a Natural Disaster and in the hard to imagine it being used to confuse people. We also must remember that the risks posed by ai are not just about candidate. Its also about people being able to vote. In the judiciary hearing i actually just simply asked chat gpt to write me a tweet about a polling location in bloomington, minnesota, i noted that sometimes they were lines at the location, what should voters do and just quickly spit out go to 124 elm street. Theres no such location in bloomington, minnesota. So you have the problem of that to more likely to occur as we get closer to an election. With ai the rampant disinformation will quickly grow in quantity and quality. We need guardrails to protect our election so what do we do and i hope that will be some of the subject in addition to admiring the problem that with can discuss today. On a bill that we are leading together to get at deep fake videos like the ones i just talked about used against former President Trump, used against Elizabeth Warren, those are ads that arent really the people, senator collins, senator coons, we just bruised it and it creates a framework that is constitutionally all right based on past and recent precedent with exceptions for things like parody and satire that allows those to be bent. Another key of transparency when it comes to this technology is disclaimers for other types of ads, that is another bill congresswoman clark is leading in the house which would require disclaimer on ads that include ai generated images so at least voters know that ai is being used in the campaign ads and finally i see commissioner dickerson out there. Finally, are you happy about that mr. Cohn . There you go. Finally it is important that the federal Elections Commission be doing their part in taking on these threats while the fbc is now accepting Public Comments on whether it can regulate the deceptive ai generated campaign ads after deadlocking on the issue earlier this summer. We must remain focus on taking action in time for the next election. So whether you grow or not agree that the fbc currently has the power to do that, theres nothing wrong with spelling it out if that is the barrier. We are working with republicans on that issue as well. So i kind of look at it three prong, the most agreenous that must be banned with the constitutional limitations, the disclaimers and then giving the fec powers that they need including state laws one which we will hear from steve simon. With bipartisan cooperation put in place we will get the guardrails that we need. We can harness the potential of ai, the great opportunities while controlling the threats we now see emerging and safeguard our democracy from those who would use this technology to spread disinformation and upend our elections whether it is abaud, whether it is domestic. I believe strongly in the power of elections. I also believe in innovation and we have got to be able to draw that line to allow voters to vote and make god decisions or at least putting guardrails in place. I will turn it over to senator fisher. Thank you, chairman klobuchar, congress often examines issues that affect americans on a daily basis. Artificial intelligence has become one of those issues. Ai isnt new but significant increases in Computing Power have revolutionized its capabilities. Its quickly moved from the stuff of Science Fiction to being part of daily lives. There is no question that ai is transformative and poised to evolve rapidly. This makes understanding ai all the more important. In consideration whether legislation is necessary congress should waive the benefits and the risks of ai, we should look at how innovative uses of ai could improve the lives of our constituents and also the dangers that ai should pose, we should consider possible economic advantages and pitfalls, we should thoughtfully examine existing laws and regulations and how they might apply to ai. Lately ai has been a hot topic in washington. I know many colleagues and committees in both chambers are exploring this issue. The rules committee jurisdictions includes federal laws governing elections and Campaign Finance and were here to talk about how ai impacts campaign, politics and elections. The issues surrounding the use of ai in campaigns and elections are complicated. On one hand there are concerns of use of ai to create deceptive or fraudulent campaign ads. On the other hand, ai can allow campaigns to more efficiently and effectively reach voters. Ai driven technology can also be used to check images, video and authenticity. As we learn more about this technology, we must also keep in mind the important protections our constitution provides for free speech in this country. Those protections are vital to preserving our democracy. For a long time we didnt have many reasons to consider the sources of speed or if it mattered whether ai was helping to craft it. Our First Amendment prohibits the government from policing protected speech, so we must carefully scrutinize any policy proposals that would restrict that speech. As Congress Examines this issue we need to strike a careful balance between protecting the public, protecting innovation and protecting speech. Again, i am grateful that we have the opportunity to discuss these issues today and to hear from our expert witnesses. Thank you. Thank you very much, senator fisher. Im going to introduce our witnesses. Our first witness is minnesota secretary of state steve simon, secretary simon has served as minnesotas chief elections administrator since 2015. He previously served in the minnesota house of representatives and was an assistant attorney general. He earned his law degree from the university of minnesota and bachelors degree from taft. He appeared before this Committee Last in march of 2021 and didnt screw up so we invited him back again. Mr. Potter also served as general counsel to my friend and former colleague senator john mccain, 20002008 president ial campaign and taught Campaign Finance at the university of virginia and at oxford. He earned law degree of university of virginia, masters from harvard. Third witness is maya wiley, civil and human rights. Ms. Wiley is also a professor of public and urban policy at the new school. Previously she served as couple to the mayor of new york city and founder and president of the center for social inclusion. She earned her law degree from Colombia Law School and bachelors degree from dartmouth. With that, i will have senator fisher introduce our remaining witnesses. We have with us also neil who serves as Senior Research center at the center of growth and opportunity, nonpartisan think tank at Utah State University that focuses on technology and innovation. Mr. Chelson previously served at the federal trade commission and ari cohn, nonprofit devote today Technology Law and the preservation of civil liberties. Mr. Cohn is a nationally recognized expert in First Amendment law and defamation law and coauthored to state and federal courts on vital First Amendment issues. Welcome to all of you. Very good. I do. Thank you, you can be seated. [inaudible] members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity. Im steve simon, i have the privilege of serving as minnesota secretary of state, im grateful for your willingness to engaging in important topic and honored to be here. Artificial intelligence is not a threat to american democracy in and of itself but it is an emerging and powerful amplifier of existing threats. All of us who touched the election process must be watchful and proactive especially as the 2024 president ial contest approaches. A year ago, we werent talking so much about generative ai. The release of the newly accessible tools such as chat gpt challenged all of that and in the hands of those who want to mislead ai is a new and improved tool. Instead of stilted communications with poor grammar, generative ai can provide apparent, precision and clarity. The potential threat to the administration of elections is real. Were talking about an old problem namely disinformation that can easily be amplified. One possible danger could come from an innocent circumstance, ai software simply might fail to grasp the nuances by our state by state election system. Prominent Computer Scientist in minnesota named max made article several months ago. He asked chat gpt questions about law as senator klobuchar said she did and the program gave wrong answers to several questions. Now was that intentional misdirects, probably not. In the wrong hands ai could be used to misdirect intentionally and in ways that are far more advanced than ever. I remember seeing a paper leaflet from an election about 20 or more years ago distributed in a particular neighborhood that told residents that in the coming election voting would occur on tuesday for those whose last names begin with the letters a through l while everyone else would vote on wednesday. Now that was a paper leaflet from a couple or more decades ago. Now imagine a convincing seeming email or deep fake conveying that kind of disinformation in 2024, the perpetrators could be domestic or foreign. In fact, the department of Homeland Security has warned recently that our foreign adversaries may use ai to sharpen their attacks on our democracy. One last point on potential consequences, the Brennan Center recently identified a socalled liars dividend from the vair use of ai simply put the mere existence of ai can lead to undeserved suspicion and video that contradicts preconceived ideas may be dismissed as a deep fake. The bottom line is that misdirection in elections can cause disruption, so if ai misdirects it can become an instrument of that disruption. So what can be done about it . Well, in our office we are trying to be proactive. First we are leading with the truth. That means pushing out reliable and Accurate Information while also standing up to miss and disinformation quickly. Second, we have been working with local and federal partners to monitor and respond to inaccuracies and third we emphasized Media Literacy, the National Association of secretaries of state has helped with trusted Sources Initiative urging americans to seek out sources of election information from secretaries of state and local election administrators. Fourth, our cyber defenses are strong. Weve invested time and resources in guarding against intrusions that could introduce misleading information to voters. As for possible legislation, i do believe that a federal approach would be helpful. The impact of ai will be felt at a National Level so i applaud bipartisan efforts such as to protect elections from deceptive ai act and the real political ads act. Recently the Minnesota Legislature enacted similar situation with broad bipartisan support. There is a Critical Role for the private sector too. Companies have a responsibility to the public to make sure their ai products are secure and trust worthy, i support the efforts already underway to encourage adherence to basic standards. But let me end on a note of some cautious optimism, ai is definitely a challenge. Its a big challenge. But in some ways we have confronted similar challenges before with each technological leap, we have generally been able to manage the potential disruptions to the way we receive and respond to information, the move to computerization, the arrival of the internet, the social media all threaten pathways. In short order the American People got smart about those things and they adapted and congress helped. Ai may be qualityively different from those other advances but if we get better at identifying false information and if we continue to rely on trusted sources for election information and if congress can help, we can overcome many of the threats that ai poses while harnessing benefits. Thank you for inviting me to testify today, i look forward to continued partnership. Thank you very much, mr. Potter. Good afternoon, thank you for the honor appearing before you today to testify about Artificial Intelligence and elections. My testimony will focus on how Political Communications generate through ai relate to conduct of campaigns and why federal regulation is urgency needed to address the impact of some aspects of this technology on our democracy. To summarize the overarching concern ai tools can be used to design and spread fraudulent or Deceptive Communications that infringe on voters fundamental right to make informed decisions at the ballot box. Every election cycle billions of dollars are spent to create and distribute Political Communications. Before voters cast their ballots they must parse through the many messages and decide what to believe. Our Campaign Laws are intended to protect and assist voters by requiring transparency about who is paying to influence their election choices and who is speaking to them, however, ai could make voters task much more difficult because of its unprecedented ability to easily create realistic false content unchecked the deceptive use of ai could make it virtually impossible to determine who is truly speaking in a political communication, whether the message being communicated is authentic or even whether something being depicted actually happened. This could leave voters unable to meaningfully evaluate candidates and candidates unable to convey their desired message to voters undermining our democracy. It opens the door to malign even foreign actors to manipulate our elections with false information. Foreign adversaries may not favor specific candidates, they may just seek to create chaos and so distrust in our elections, thereby harming both parties and the whole country. I believe there are 3 concurrent paths to proactively addressing these risks. 3 paths flagged by the chair in her opening remarks. First, congress could strengthen the fecs power to protect elections against fraud. Under current existing law, the fec can stop federal candidates and their campaigns from fraudulently misrepresenting themselves as speaking for a another candidate or party on a matter which is damaging to that candidate or party. I believe the fec should explicitly clarify through the rulemaking process that the use of ai is included in this prohibition. Then congress should expand this provision to prohibit any person, not just a candidate from fraudulently misrepresenting themselves as speaking for a candidate. Second, congress should pass a new law specifically prohibi