Artificial Intelligence, Government, and the Law: Updates from a Year of Rapid Change

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be a focal point for policy debates, legal disputes, and legislative action over the past year, both in North Carolina and across the United States. The pace of AI development keeps accelerating exponentially, forcing lawmakers, courts, and government agencies to consider carefully how they will regulate or use this technology. This post highlights some of the most significant AI developments from the past twelve months at the local, state, and federal levels. Deepfake Legislation at the State and Federal Level. For the past several years, lawmakers in Congress and state legislatures across the country have struggled to reach consensus on how to address some of the potential harms caused by generative AI. One issue that has driven some bipartisan policymaking at both the federal and state level is the need to address AI-generated child sex abuse material (CSAM) and nonconsensual deepfake pornography. Last year the General Assembly enacted Session Law 2024-37, which revised the criminal offenses related to sexual exploitation of a minor effective December 1, 2024. The definition of “material” that applies across these statutes now includes “digital or computer-generated visual depictions or representations created, adapted, or modified by technological means, such as algorithms or artificial intelligence.” See G.S. 14-190.13(2). S.L. 2024-37 also created a new criminal offense, found in G.S. 14-190.17C—"obscene visual representation of sexual exploitation of a minor.” This new offense criminalizes distribution and possession of material that (1) depicts a minor engaging in sexual activity (as defined in G.S. 14-190.13(5)), and (2) [...]