If AI is really coming whether we like it or not, as its evangelists like to say, then regulations are coming for it, whether it likes it or not. Today, New York legislators announced that the state has passed the NY FAIR News Act (New York Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Requirements in News Act), a measure that was backed by the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, the Director’s Guild, and the NewsGuild. The bill now heads to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk for a signature.
The act requires any new organizations operating in New York state to disclose whether published work was generated, even partially, by artificial intelligence or without human involvement. Given that a good portion of the news that the rest of the United States consumes, whether in print or on screen, this kind of legislation will likely affect people in other states, whether or not those other states enact similar laws.
“AI will never be able to do the work journalists are required to do to accurately report and contextualize local and national news. We hope Governor Hochul will quickly sign this bill into law to mitigate one of the risks posed by AI and place value on the vital work done every day by newsroom workers,” says WGA President Tom Fontana in a press statement. Adds SAG’s Chief Labor Policy Officer Rebecca Damon, “SAG-AFTRA supports the implementation of smart guardrails around the use of AI for all of our members working in front of a camera or behind a microphone. New York is the center of the American news industry and the broadcast journalists SAG-AFTRA represents are a key part of the state’s workforce. The NY FAIR News Act builds on the wins of our Synthetic advertising law, and creates a meaningful, enforceable protection for both journalists and consumers of news media. We encourage Governor Hochul to sign the bill into law.”
Keep scrolling for more great stories.