Is AI Stealing Our Personhood Rights? The Brewing War

AI. Suicide. Copying Humans. Voice Theft. Are you talking to a real person or an AI bot? Are states playing whack-a-mole to regulate AI because the feds are standing down? This program explores AI in 2026, examining a variety of issues that have hit the legal system and reviewing the existing state and federal regulatory regimes for managing the explosion of AI in our lives.

From deepfakes and the right of publicity to the earliest state laws on notice of AI interactions, and state efforts to regulate AI involving children in the areas of suicide and sexually explicit material, this program will let you explore state and federal laws in this rapidly evolving field. We will analyze how states are moving to regulate AI issues while the Executive branch seeks to let AI develop for national policy reasons.

Course Highlights:

• The Nature of Deepfakes: Understand the technology behind AI-generated audio and video, distinguishing between positive, consensual uses and illicit misappropriation.
• Right of Publicity: Examine the foundational state laws that protect name, image, and likeness, and analyze landmark cases like Bette Midler v. Ford and the "Human Cannonball" case.
• Federal vs. State Tensions: Explore the conflict between aggressive state regulations (such as California's SB 243 and AB 2839) and federal Executive Orders aimed at minimizing regulatory burdens.
• The First Amendment Defense: Analyze the constitutional challenges in regulating AI, specifically regarding political satire, parody, and news reporting.
• Online Immunity: Review Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and its role in shielding platforms from liability for AI-generated content.
• Emerging Legislation: Get an overview of pending federal bills, including the No Fakes Act and the Defiance Act, designed to nationalize personhood rights and combat sexually explicit deepfakes.