Durbin Questions Witness During Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On Artificial Intelligence And Human Rights

Hearing

"I heard echoes of your argument against the STOP CSAM Act in a recent interview you gave… In discussing potential liability of a platform when a generative AI tool causes harm, you noted that generative AI tools, "do involve users engaging in expressive conduct'… It seems as though a company that releases a tool that can clone a person's voice should be able to predict some of the ways the tool would be misused. And, if they don't put sufficient safety measures in place they should be legally accountable… I'm worried about your phrase "expressive conduct' and your opposition to our bill. Would you like to explain?

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You talk about the heavy thumb of government. What we have now is not a heavy thumb… We stand by the sidelines and watch this poor victim and argue that we are somehow suppressing the market. Perhaps we're asking for accountability in the market… I just have to disagree with your premise that the market is more important than the individuals who are the victims of it. I think asking people to be held accountable for what they have produced and what their actions result in, is as basic as justice in America. And to say Section 230 or something like it should continue and [not] stop this child sex abuse material online exploitation, I think it goes way too far.

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There's got to be a line we draw that protects the marketplace but still doesn't exploit innocent people."

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