Garon on An AI's Picture Painting a Thousand Lies: Designating Responsibility for Visual Libel @GaronDigital @NSULawCollege @JournalSpeech

Jon Garon, Shepard Broad Law Center, has published An AI’s Picture Paints a Thousand Lies: Designating Responsibility for Visual Libel at 3 Journal of Free Speech Law 425 (2023). Here is the abstract.

The visual depictions possible through various generative AI systems have advanced far past the point where a casual observer can determine whether an image is real or synthetic. Synthetic, fake videos have been used for disinformation in the Russian war against Ukraine, to produce countless instances of revenge pornography, to create artificial news anchors in South Korea, and to generate fictional social media influencers. These tools have both compelling commercial applications and potential for significant weaponization. Combined with the tendency of some generative AI systems to hallucinate or produce false information the AI claims to be accurate, the concerns over potentially libelous and harmful visual content will only grow. This article focuses on responsibility and liability for libelous publication of generative synthetic media. The article explores the legal consequences when an AI system itself generates false and harmful images to determine which parties, if any, would be liable for the damage caused by such publication. By providing this framework, the article also identifies the steps parties involved in the AI content production chain can take to protect individuals from the misuse of these systems.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.