NY Mandates AI Avatar Disclosure in Commercial Content

Two bills signed Thursday deal with how AI-generated people -- real or entirely synthetic -- can appear in commercial content. The bills are especially relevant to the film industry and actors, for whom AI usage (and compensation) is one of the most pressing issues the profession is facing. In a joint press release with Hochul, SAG-AFTRA executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland celebrated the signings.

"These protections are the direct result of artists, lawmakers and advocates coming together to confront the very real and immediate risks posed by unchecked AI use," Crabtree-Ireland said. The disclosure bill says that the notice must be "conspicuous" when the ad includes a synthetic avatar that doesn't correspond to a real human. The bill dealing with the likenesses of deceased people is part of the state right of publicity -- there's no federal right of publicity, but instead a patchwork of uneven state laws, many of which are not updated for the generative AI era.

There are some specific cases where a disclosure isn't needed: if the advertisement or promotional material is for an "expressive work" like a movie, TV show, or video game, where the AI avatar in the ad is consistent with its use in the work. State politics outlet New York Focus reported that at least a few state agencies have used AI to produce ads, though in some cases they may be exempt because they're considered public service announcements. Violations of the disclosure requirement incur a $1,000 fine for the first time and jump to $5,000 for subsequent instances.