The EU could have to adapt its AI law to adapt it to cases of 'fake nudes' like that of the Almendralejo girls
The European Union is working on an Artificial Intelligence law that will be pioneering in the international context, but it will not be a closed and immovable norm, but will have to adapt to facts such as the fake nudes generated precisely with this tool in Almendralejo (Extremadura).. An example of deep fakes that opens a door through which community legislation will have to enter to stop. The AI law is expected to be approved before next year, but the nuances continue to be analyzed.
“For deep fakes, the obligations for commercial use suppliers will be, for example, the use of a watermark. Now it is being discussed that a normal user, so to speak, who uploads one of these tools for free, also has this obligation. He will probably end up having it,” summarize the sources consulted by 20minutes.. “It is also being discussed whether this private user can be fined for improper use,” they add.
In this case, at the moment, the National Police is investigating seven minors in the Extremaduran town for creating nudes with an artificial intelligence app using the faces of twenty girls between 11 and 17 years old from their municipality and surrounding areas.. The case, which is already in the hands of the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office, is the first of a massive complaint in Spain of non-consensual AI porn that affects underage girls, but this practice is becoming more common every day against many women.
On the other hand, Spain does not have a specific law that regulates non-consensual porn created through Artificial Intelligence, also called deep fake.. A situation that only this summer several celebrities, such as Laura Escanes or Rosalía, have denounced, and which consists of creating highly credible nudes using real body parts of the victims.. In this sense and with regard to pornography, there are national regulations, but AI requires a “modernization” of the regulations.. In the case of the EU, “it will have to be adapted as the different cases are seen.”
In the parliamentary processing of the Yes is Yes Law, the Junts deputy Pilar Calvo tried to introduce an amendment that included a prison sentence of six months to two years for anyone who used non-consensual porn generated with AI, but her request was rejected by a PP-PSOE majority that did not consider it appropriate.
In Brussels they are trying to fit all the pieces into the pioneering standard that is expected to be “an example” for other international actors.. “It is precisely about introducing more transparency to know what the decision process has been to reach conclusions through AI. And what is more important: we have to know when we interact with AI,” explains socialist MEP Ibán García del Blanco. “We have to know that we are facing a deep fake or a text that is made with AI, or being served in a certain service. It is about achieving that level of transparency and also that people have the right to be able to go to a human person if they wish when making a decision,” he concludes.
The new community law, adds García del Blanco, “will address all the technological complexity that encompasses the phenomenon”. But important nuances must be made: “This does not mean that everything related to the impact of Artificial Intelligence can be contained in a single legal text.. Specificities will have to be developed for each sector and member countries will also be able to complete things with their legislation.”
In the specific case of Almendralejo, the implications and how these situations can be addressed will have to be looked at precisely.. “It cannot be that a tool can be used to undress anyone from any photo, without any type of registration or control to prevent its misuse. We cannot fully anticipate the future, but this AI Law will give us a lot of peace of mind in Europe,” concludes the MEP.