Pennsylvania will require labels on AI-generated ads

Terrence O'Brien

is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.

On Thursday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act into law, requiring disclosures on AI-generated ads. The law requires any ad — whether it’s a still image, video, audio, or text — that “has been significantly modified or generated by artificial intelligence” to include a label in the same format as the ad itself. That applies to TV commercials from multi-billion-dollar companies, as well as restaurants’ ugly, crowded flyers about their wing specials.

Pennsylvania is one of the first states to require disclosures on AI content. And it requires those labels regardless of where an ad was created. So you might see disclosures pop up in commercials in other states if they’re also expected to air in Pennsylvania.

The law leaves many loopholes, though. For one, what constitutes “significantly modified” is subjective. There is also a carve-out for “parody, satire, commentary or criticism,” as well as anything that is “evidently fictional.” Again, what “evidently fictional” means is unclear. The wording also suggests only content that “uses synthetic content in a manner that creates a false consumer perception” about a product or service would require a disclosure. Again, leaving questions about what qualifies as “false” under the law and who makes those decisions.

The office of State Senator Nick Pisciottano, who introduced the bill, did not immediately return a request for comment.

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• Terrence O'Brien