Pennsylvania law will require labels on AI-generated ads

In short: Pennsylvania has signed a new law that requires many ads made or heavily changed with AI to include a clear label.

What happened

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act into law on Thursday. The law says ads that have been “significantly modified or generated by artificial intelligence” must include a disclosure.

The rule covers many kinds of ads, including still images, videos, audio, and text. The label must appear in the same format as the ad. For example, a video ad should include a video style disclosure, and an audio ad should include an audio disclosure (like a spoken note).

The law applies whether the ad was created in Pennsylvania or somewhere else. That means some companies may add labels to ads shown in other states too, if the same ads also run in Pennsylvania.

Why it matters

AI can make ads that look or sound real, even when parts are made up or altered. Labels are meant to help people understand when they might be looking at computer-made content, like a food photo that was generated instead of photographed (like a menu picture that was drawn instead of taken).

The Verge notes the law has several unclear areas. Terms like “significantly modified” are open to interpretation. There are also exceptions for parody, satire, commentary or criticism, and content that is “evidently fictional,” but what counts as “evidently fictional” is not clearly defined. The wording also suggests the disclosure may only be required when AI is used in a way that creates a false impression about a product or service.

Source: The Verge AI