Florida legislature taking on bogus political ads, use of artificial intelligence

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The state senate is considering a bill that would clamp down on the use of artificial intelligence in political advertising.

State Sen. Nick DiCeglie (R-St. Petersburg) is urging the legislature to require all ads that feature artificial content to run a disclaimer.

"When you see something that looks real, but it's not real, having that disclaimer highlights that," said DiCeglie. "That individual, in this case, the voter can go in and do their research."

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Over the last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis has been the subject of a "deep fake" video that showed him announcing he had dropped out of the presidential race, which of course he had not.

A "deep fake" video of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

At the same time, his campaign was accused of using AI to fake pictures of Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci kissing.

"AI is truly something we have to get our arms wrapped around," said State Sen. Bobby Powell (D-West Palm Beach).

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USF political scientist Josh Scacco says in order to protect a functioning democracy, the candidates themselves will also have to take responsibility for their own use of AI.

"We know that candidates use political ads to stretch the truth, to deceive at particular times, this is another way in which they do it," explained Scacco. "Many individuals don't understand what artificial intelligence or artificial tools can do, what the capabilities are. So, even putting a label on something does not guarantee that individuals will be able to understand what that label is saying."

The disclaimer bill is going through the committee process -- but passed through the senate elections committee on a 5-3 vote.