In The News - Banning AI Deepfakes

 From the Pour Over...

You may have heard that Minnesota recently banned technology that allows people to make fake nude images and became the first state to enact a ban on “nudification” technology. 

The state’s new law forbids apps and websites from making explicit photos of people using AI (called a “deepfake”). Companies will be fined $500,000 every time a user makes an inappropriate deepfake. The Land of 10,000 Lakes is the first state ever to adopt a law like this.  

Governor Tim Walz (MN-D) signed the law in May, and it went into effect  about a week ago. 

However, Elon Musk’s company xAI sued Minnesota over the law. xAI supports trying to stop the spread of AI-generated explicit images of real people but argues the law goes too far and its language is too broad. The Grok-maker worries that appropriate images (like some used for “artistic, scientific… educational, [or] medical” purposes) will be lumped in, saying it wouldn’t be fair to fine so steeply for something like that. It also says the law goes against freedom of speech. 

xAI wanted MN to hit the brakes on the law, but a judge said no. He said the company should’ve asked sooner (like when the law was signed in May). Since they waited, the judge determined the risk likely wasn’t urgent and scheduled a court date for August 19. He will decide then whether to put the law on pause while the court case plays out.  

CHRISTIAN RESPONSE:

As states legislate and courts discuss the use of AI, it’s a good moment for personal reflection on AI’s effect on our lives, relationships, and heart-habits. Whatever tools or technology we adopt, our aim should be to use them wisely and in ways that increase the fruit of the Spirit in us.

“Walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh… The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”   Galatians 5:16, 22-23 

As tech capabilities grow, believers have tough decisions to make about what we will use and how. As you evaluate your usage, consider: Do my choices build others up? Am I just serving myself or helping my neighbor thrive? Because “each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself” (Romans 15:2-3).