"New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing for a ban on artificial intelligence-generated campaign ads targeting political rivals - while using the tech to promote herself. Take her recent "Wrath of Kath" political tour poster, where the AI-generated likeness of the governor in a black leather jacket points at the audience while touting her "tough on crime" policies. Or the satirical image of a bare-armed, machine gun-toting Hochul as Rambo from her January State of the State address."
"“The cliché is that most people believe in free speech for me, but not for thee,” said former ACLU President Nadine Strossen, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. “The proposal is blatantly unconstitutional.”"
"The governor's office pointed to several examples of the damaging use of AI in politics in laying out her plan. In 2024, former state Assemblymember Keith Wright of Harlem was apparently caught on a hot mic during a profanity-laced rant against a colleague, only for Wright to say it was the work of AI-savvy fraudsters. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign last year put out an AI-generated social media video depicting now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani eating rice with his hands while his supporters shoplifted, sold drugs and drove drunk."
Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a blanket ban on the use of artificial intelligence to create opposition campaign ads while employing AI-generated imagery in her own promotions. Her campaign materials include a "Wrath of Kath" poster and a satirical Rambo-style image. Civil liberties critics labeled the proposed ban unconstitutional, arguing it restricts free speech. The proposal was framed amid broader concerns about rapid AI advances, including strains on infrastructure and potential job losses. The governor's office cited recent political abuses of AI, including a fabricated hot-mic incident and an AI-generated video portraying a public official engaging in criminal behavior.
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