After sharing an AI-generated video of presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is defending his actions, arguing it’s fair game to “parody” a US politician.
The “deepfake” video of Vice President Harris used AI to clone her voice and mock her presidential campaign. “I may not know the first thing about running the country, but remember that’s a good thing if you’re a deep state puppet,” the AI-generated voice says over the clip.
California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the video and is signaling he’ll crack down on politically focused deepfakes being shared on social media. “Manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal,” Newsom, a Democrat, tweeted. “I’ll be signing a bill in a matter of weeks to make sure it is.”
Newsom didn’t specify which bill he’d be signing. California state lawmakers are considering a number of AI-related measures, one of which requires disclosures for fake voices in robocalls.
Musk—a prominent Trump supporter—hit back at Newsom with a low-brow quip: “I checked with renowned world authority, Professor Suggon Deeznutz, and he said parody is legal in America.”
It’s a go-to joke for Musk; last year, he picked a fight with Wikpedia and pledged to “give them a billion dollars if they change their name to Dickipedia.”
The spat highlights some tricky questions about how the US might regulate deepfakes and whether they can be considered free speech. Parody has long been protected under the First Amendment, but cloning someone’s voice or image for malicious intent has become the target of a growing number of state laws to rein in deepfakes.
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