WE ARE OFFICIALLY COMING TO
ORDER. THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENTS AND THE ASSEMBLY
ELECTIONS COMMITTEE IS NOW IN
SESSION. GOOD MORNING. WELCOME
TO OUR INFORMATIONAL HEARING
TITLED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AND ELECTIONS PROTECTING
DEMOCRACY IN THE DIGITAL ERA.
GIVEN THE TIMELINESS AND
SIGNIFICANCE OF TODAY'S
DISCUSSION, WE HAVE MADE THIS A
JOINT HEARING BETWEEN THE SENATE
AND THE ASSEMBLY, AND I'M VERY
HAPPY TO HAVE THE CHAIR OF
ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS NEXT TO ME
HERE. IT'S RARE THAT WE HAVE
THESE JOINT JOINT COMMITTEE
HEARINGS, SO I'M EXCITED THAT WE
WERE ABLE TO PULL THIS TOGETHER,
AND BOTH OF US ARE, OF COURSE,
RELATIVELY NEW IN OUR SECOND
YEAR TOGETHER IN THE, IN THE
ASSEMBLY AND THE SENATE. SO IT'S
GREAT TO BE WORKING TOGETHER ON
THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC. I ALSO
JUST WANT TO MENTION THAT, JUST
YESTERDAY, THE FEDERAL SENATE,
THE UNITED STATES SENATE, HAD
HAD A, A STATEMENT OR AN
INTERVIEW WITH THE LEADER OF THE
SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE,
IT'S SENATOR MARK WARNER, AND
HE'S FROM VIRGINIA. AND HE SAID
THAT HE BELIEVES THAT THE UNITED
STATES MAY BE MORE VULNERABLE TO
FOREIGN DISINFORMATION AIMED AT
INFLUENCING VOTERS AND
UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY THAN IT
WAS BEFORE THE 2020 ELECTION.
AND HE SAID THAT THIS IS DUE TO
SEVERAL FACTORS, THOSE ARE
IMPROVED DISINFORMATION TACTICS
BY RUSSIA AND CHINA, THE RISE OF
DOMESTIC CANDIDATES AND GROUPS
WHO ARE THEMSELVES WILLING TO
SPREAD DISINFORMATION, AND THE
ARRIVAL OF ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE PROGRAMS THAT ALLOW
THE RAPID CREATION OF IMAGES,
AUDIO AND VIDEO. THAT'S
DIFFICULT TO TELL FROM THE REAL
THING. HE ALSO MENTIONED THE,
THE CHANGE FROM TECH COMPANIES.
SO TECH COMPANIES ROLLING BACK
THEIR EFFORTS TO PROTECT USERS
FROM MISINFORMATION. THÀNH EVEN
AS THE GOVERNMENT'S OWN ATTEMPTS
TO COMBAT THE PROBLEM HAVE
BECOME MIRED IN DEBATES ABOUT
SURVEILLANCE AND CENSORSHIP. AND
THIS IS AN ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARTICLE THAT WAS IN MANY
NEWSPAPERS THIS MORNING. SO I
JUST WANTED TO LAY THAT OUT,
BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS A
REALLY IMPORTANT AND TOPICAL FOR
US RIGHT NOW. SO WE KNOW THAT
TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING MORE
RAPIDLY THAN EVER. AND WE'RE OF
COURSE, GRATEFUL FOR THE ROLE
THAT TECHNOLOGY PLAYS IN OUR
LIVES. TECHNOLOGY IN MANY WAYS,
HAS MADE LIFE MORE CONVENIENT
AND EFFICIENT. AND OF COURSE,
HAS SAVED LIVES IN MANY
CONTEXTS. BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE
THE PIVOTAL ROLE THAT TECHNOLOGY
PLAYS IN SHAPING OUR DEMOCRATIC
PROCESSES, PARTICULARLY IN THE
CONTEXT OF ELECTIONS. ONE OF THE
REASONS WHY WE'RE ALL HERE ON
THESE COMMITTEES IS BECAUSE WE
CARE ABOUT A FREE AND FAIR
ELECTIONS, AND THE DEMOCRATIC
PROCESS, RAPIDLY CHANGING
TECHNOLOGY LIKE ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE. AND WHAT WE'VE
COME TO KNOW AS DEEPFAKES
PRESENT REAL CHALLENGES TO THE
INTEGRITY AND SECURITY OF
ELECTORAL SYSTEMS, NOT ONLY
STATEWIDE, BUT WORLDWIDE. AI
TOOLS ARE BECOMING COMMONPLACE.
I'VE USED IT. MY FAMILY HAS USED
IT, AND ACTUALLY WE USED IT TO
COME UP WITH THE TITLE OF THIS
HEARING. WE USE CHATGPT TO COME
UP WITH FOR THE TITLE OF THIS
HEARING, AND WE KNOW THAT AI
BRINGS THINGS TO THE MASSES THAT
OPEN US UP TO WHAT COULD BECOME
IMPROPER OR UNETHICAL ACTS. SO
AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR
DISCUSSION TODAY IS THE
EMERGENCE OF ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY,
SPECIFICALLY ON OUR ELECTIONS.
WHEN USED CORRECTLY AND SAFELY,
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAS THE
OPPORTUNITY TO POSITIVELY CHANGE
THE WORLD. BUT IF USED
INCORRECTLY, MAY HAVE HARROWING
IMPACTS ON SOCIETY. WHEN IT
COMES TO ELECTIONS. SHOULD I BE
USED WRONGLY? IT COULD ENABLE
THE CREATION OF HIGHLY REALISTIC
YET FABRICATED AUDIO VISUAL
CONTENT. THESE DEEPFAKES POSE
SIGNIFICANT RISKS TO THE
INTEGRITY OF ELECTIONS AND OUR
DEMOCRATIC DISCOURSE. THE
PROLIFERATION PROLIFERATION OF
DEEPFAKE VIDEOS HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO UNDERMINE TRUST IN
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. MANIPUR
STATE PUBLIC OPINION AND SOW
DISCORD AMONG CITIZENS.
MOREOVER, THE USE OF AI
ALGORITHMS IN ELECTORAL
PROCESSES RAISE CRITICAL
QUESTIONS ABOUT TRANSPARENCY,
ACCOUNTABILITY, AND FAIRNESS. AS
AI SYSTEMS ARE INCREASINGLY
DEPLOYED FOR VOTER ENGAGEMENT,
PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS, AND
ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION, WE
MUST ENSURE THAT THESE
TECHNOLOGIES ARE IMPLEMENTED IN
A MANNER THAT UPHOLDS DEMOCRATIC
VALUES, PROTECTS VOTER RIGHTS,
AND PRESERVES THE INTEGRITY OF
OUR ELECTIONS. TODAY'S HEARING
PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR EXPERTS,
POLICYMAKERS, AND STAKEHOLDERS
TO ENGAGE IN A CONSTRUCTIVE
DIALOG ON THE MULTIFACETED
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
POSED BY AI AND ELECTION AS.
BEFORE I HAND IT TO MY
COLLEAGUE, THE CHAIR OF ASSEMBLY
ELECTIONS ASSEMBLY MEMBER
PELLERIN, I ALSO WANT TO MENTION
THAT WE HAVE PANELISTS WHO ARE
PARTICIPATING VIA ZOOM TODAY. SO
FOR OUR REMOTE PANELISTS, PLEASE
MUTE YOUR PHONES OR COMPUTERS
AND THEN PLEASE SELECT UNMUTE
BEFORE YOU BEGIN SPEAKING. OUR
IT PERSONNEL WILL PUT YOU BACK
ON MUTE WHEN YOU ARE DONE. ONCE
RECOGNIZED TO SPEAK, PLEASE MAKE
SURE YOU CAN BE SEEN ON THE
SCREEN. STATE YOUR NAME AND THEN
YOU ARE READY TO ADDRESS THE
COMMITTEE. FOR TODAY'S HEARING,
WE'LL BE HEARING FROM ALL THE
PANELISTS ON THE AGENDA PRIOR TO
TAKING ANY PUBLIC COMMENT. AND
ONCE WE HAVE HEARD ALL OF THE
WITNESSES, WE WILL HAVE A PUBLIC
COMMENT PERIOD. FOR THOSE WHO
WISH TO COMMENT. SO WITH THAT
CO-CHAIR, PELLERIN, I WOULD LIKE
TO OFFER IT TO YOU TO MAKE
OPENING REMARKS AS WELL. THANK
YOU SO MUCH. GOOD MORNING. I
ALSO WANT TO WELCOME EVERYONE TO
THIS JOINT INFORMATIONAL
HEARING, AND I WANT TO THANK
CHAIR BLAKE SPEAR AND HER
COMMITTEE STAFF FOR PROPOSING
AND ORGANIZING TODAY'S HEARING.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE STAFF, NICOLE
BECKER AND ETHAN JONES, WHO ARE
HERE TODAY, WE HAVE JUST BEGUN A
MONUMENTAL ELECTION YEAR. WE DO
SO WITH OUR DEMOCRACY ALREADY
WEAKENED, WITH TRUST IN
INSTITUTIONS AND MEDIA AT ALL
TIME LOWS. THE TRUTH IS, UNDER
ASSAULT AND WITH DEEP VOTER
PARTICIPATION DISPARITIES
LEAVING CERTAIN COMMUNITIES OUT
OF OUR ELECTORATE IN THIS
CHALLENGING LANDSCAPE, WE
CONFRONT OUR FIRST AI ELECTION,
WHERE GENERATIVE AI DEEPFAKES
WILL FLOOD POLITICAL DISCOURSE,
LEAVING VOTERS UNCERTAIN ABOUT
THE AUTHENTICITY OF IMAGES,
AUDIO AND VIDEOS. EASY TO ACCESS
TOOLS EMPOWER CAMPAIGNS,
CONSPIRACY THEORISTS, FOREIGN
ENTITIES AND ONLINE TROLLS TO
DECEIVE AND DESTABILIZE OUR
INFORMATION NETWORKS. INSTANT
USES OF GENERATIVE AI, DEEPFAKES
AND DISINFORMATION HAVE ALREADY
INFLUENCED ELECTIONS GLOBALLY,
INCLUDING IN BANGLADESH,
SLOVAKIA, AND DOMESTICALLY IN
CHICAGO AND ELSEWHERE. THE
AMERICAN PUBLIC REMAINS ILL
PREPARED FOR THIS EVOLVING
THREAT. HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW
ABOUT AI THE TECHNOLOGY IS
CHANGING RAPIDLY. THIS IS THE
FIRST TOOL IN HUMAN HISTORY THAT
CAN MAKE DECISIONS BY ITSELF.
REMEMBER OPEN THE POD BAY DOORS.
HAL, THIS IS THE FIRST TOOL IN
HUMAN HISTORY THAT CAN CREATE
NEW IDEAS BY ITSELF. WHILE WE
ARE LEARNING TO USE AI, IT IS
LEARNING TO USE US. ITS
POTENTIAL TO DISRUPT HUMAN
SOCIETY IS IMMENSE. FROM
ECONOMICS TO DEMOCRACY. Kò. WE
HAVE THREE BILLS MOVING THROUGH
THE LEGISLATURE TO ADDRESS THE
ISSUES THAT IMPACTS OF AI ON OUR
ELECTIONS AND OUR DEMOCRACY. I
LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM OUR
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS TODAY TO
LEARN MORE ABOUT AI AND THE
STEPS WE CAN ALL TAKE TO PROTECT
OUR DEMOCRACY FROM THE THREATS
THAT THE AI TECHNOLOGY MAY
PRESENT. THANK YOU. AND DO ANY
OF OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE ANY
OPENING COMMENTS THAT THEY WOULD
LIKE TO MAKE? YES. SENATOR
NEWMAN, VERY BRIEFLY, I WANT TO
THANK BOTH THE CHAIRS FOR THEIR
LEADERSHIP ON THIS ISSUE AND THE
STAFFS FOR PULLING THIS
TOGETHER. AND LET'S THANK THE
WITNESSES IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR
PARTICIPATION. THIS IS AN
IMPORTANT ISSUE. I WAS VERY
EXCITED ABOUT IT BEFORE I HEARD
CHAIR PELLERIN'S DYSTOPIAN,
EXPLANATION ABOUT THE HELLISH
WORLD WE'RE ABOUT TO ENTER, BUT,
IMPORTANT CONVERSATION. THIS IS
A GREAT FIRST STEP, LOOKING
FORWARD TO HEARING FROM
EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. ANYBODY
ELSE? NO. OKAY. ASSEMBLY MEMBER
AZALI. THANK YOU. I ALSO
APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE
HERE. I DO AGREE WITH MY
COLLEAGUES THAT AI DOES POSE
SIGNIFICANT, CONCERNS THREATS,
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING
FROM OUR PANELISTS, BUT ONE
THING, AS WE PROGRESS IN THIS
CONVERSATION, I WOULD ALSO LIKE
TO HEAR AND HOPEFULLY SOME OF
THE SPEAKERS CAN TOUCH ON, IS
WHAT ARE THE FIRST AMENDMENT
IMPLICATIONS ON PROPOSED
GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS TO AI?
BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S ALWAYS A
CONCERN. IF GOVERNMENT BECOMES
THE ARBITER OF WHAT CAN AND
CAN'T BE SAID OR TRUTH, THAT
OBVIOUSLY IS GOING TO, COME INTO
CONFLICT WITH SOME OF OUR, OUR,
OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. SO
THAT'S THAT'S SORT OF WHERE MY
MIND IS AT. AND SORT OF SOME OF
THE TENSIONS I THINK WILL BE
TACKLING AND GRAPPLING WITH AS
WE GO DOWN THAT PATH. SO THANK
YOU. THANK YOU. GREAT POINT.
OKAY, SO OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS
LIZ HOWARD VIA ZOOM. MISS HOWARD
IS DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ELECTIONS
AND GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS FOR THE
BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE AT
NYU SCHOOL OF LAW. MISS HOWARD,
WELCOME TO THE COMMITTEE. THANK
YOU. CHAIRWOMAN. CHAIRWOMAN
BLAKE SPARE, CHAIR PELLERIN,
MEMBERS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE
ON ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENTS AND THE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS. THANK YOU FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY AT
TODAY'S IMPORTANT HEARING.
GENERATIVE AI HAS ADDED A NEW
AND COMPLEX DIMENSION TO THE
EXISTING THREATS TO ELECTION
OFFICES AND ELECTION VENDORS. IT
EXCELS AT IMITATING
AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES, MAKING IT
EASIER TO DECEIVE SPECIFIC
INDIVIDUALS OR THE GENERAL
PUBLIC BY IMPERSONATING ELECTION
OFFICIALS OR FORGING OFFICIAL
ELECTION DOCUMENTS, AND IT CAN
DO SO ON A MASSIVE SCALE. AS
HOWARD UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR
BRUCE SCHNEIER NOTED, ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE WILL INCREASE THE
SPEED, SCALE, SCOPE, AND
SOPHISTICATION OF THREATS TO OUR
DEMOCRACY. PUT ANOTHER WAY, MANY
OF THE THREATS ARE NOT NEW, BUT
THEY COULD BECOME MORE DANGEROUS
IN THE RAPIDLY EVOLVING AI
ENVIRONMENT. CURRENT FOR THE
2024 ELECTION. THE REAL
CHALLENGE IS THAT AI PROVIDES
AGITATORS NEW TOOLS TO INCREASE
THE SCALE OF SUCH ATTACKS. AT
LITTLE COST AND IN MORE
SOPHISTICATED WAYS THAN WE'VE
PREVIOUSLY SEEN. THIS MEANS, IN
ADDITION TO THEIR OTHER EFFORTS
TO ADMINISTER A SAFE AND SECURE
ELECTION IN 2024, ELECTION
OFFICIALS ARE LEARNING TO
IDENTIFY, PREPARE FOR, AND
RESPOND TO AI RELATED ATTACKS.
OF COURSE, MERE AWARENESS OF THE
WAYS THAT I MIGHT THREATEN
ELECTIONS IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR
ACTUALLY SEEING HOW IT COULD DO
SO. AS PART OF OUR WORK ON AI
AND ELECTIONS, THE BRENNAN
CENTER HAS PARTNERED WITH
ELECTION OFFICIALS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY TO CONDUCT TABLETOP
EXERCISES. THESE ARE CRISIS
SCENARIO PLANNING EXERCISES THAT
BRING TOGETHER VARIOUS
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND OTHERS
TO PRACTICE COORDINATED
RESPONSES TO SIMULATED
CHALLENGES. IN THESE EXERCISES,
WE USE REAL AI GENERATED
CONTENT, SOME OF WHICH I'LL SHOW
YOU NOW.
I'M ASSUMING YOU CAN SEE THE MY
SLIDE DECK. YES. OKAY, GREAT. SO
FIRST, I'LL LET ARIZONA
SECRETARY OF STATE ADRIAN
FONTES, PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF
SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT
ELECTION OFFICIALS HAVE ABOUT AI
RELATED THREATS. HELLO. THIS IS
A PUBLIC SERVICE ADVISORY
FEATURING AN AI VERSION OF
ARIZONA SECRETARY OF STATE
ADRIAN FONTES. THIS VIDEO WAS
PRODUCED AS PART OF OUR 2024
STATEWIDE ELECTION. SECURITY CAN
WE TURN UP THE VOLUME, PLEASE?
IT WAS CREATED WITH BOTH THE
CONSENT AND COOPERATION OF THE
REAL SECRETARY, FONTES, WHICH
AGAIN, IS NOT ME. I'M AN AI
IMPERSONATION OF HIM. I WANT TO
WARN YOU, NOT JUST ABOUT THE
QUALITY OF DEEP FAKES AND HOW
THEY CAN BE WEAPONIZED AGAINST
THE AMERICAN POPULATION, BUT
SPECIFICALLY HOW MALICIOUS
ACTORS CAN TRY TO CONFUSE THE
PUBLIC BY IMPERSONATING OUR
WEBSITES. IMAGINE A VIDEO LIKE
THIS ONE, EXCEPT IT'S A HACKER
WHO USES MY LIKENESS TO
ADVERTISE A FAKE VERSION OF THE
Ã OS.GOV WEBSITE TO TRY AND
TRICK OUR VOTERS WITH A VARIETY
OF TECHNIQUES. THERE ARE TOOLS
THAT ALLOW A HACKER TO EASILY
DOWNLOAD THE CONTENT OF A
WEBSITE. THIS ALLOWS AN ATTACKER
TO STAND UP A FAKE VERSION OF
THE WEBSITE THAT LOOKS EXACTLY
LIKE THE LEGITIMATE WEBSITE.
THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO
LOOK FOR THE.GOV DOMAIN. IF IT
SAYS.COM.ORG DOT NET, WELL,
ANYONE CAN REGISTER THOSE SITES.
SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT A HACKER
COULD DO INCLUDE SHOWING FAKE
ELECTION RESULTS ON THEIR FAKE
PAGE. THEY COULD ALSO TRY TO
TRICK YOU INTO CHECKING YOUR
VOTER REGISTRATION ON THIS FAKE
SITE AND STEAL YOUR INFORMATION.
THEY COULD ALSO POST OFFENSIVE
RACIST, FALSE, AND OR
INFLAMMATORY LANGUAGE ON THIS
FAKE SITE AND ERODE THE
CONFIDENCE OF VOTERS THAT OUR
ELECTIONS ARE BEING RUN WITH
INTEGRITY. SO I'LL LEAVE YOU
WITH THESE TWO THINGS. FIRST, IF
YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A GOVERNMENT
WEBSITE, LOOK FOR THAT.GOV. NOT
ALL GOVERNMENT WEBSITES USE IT,
BUT MOST DO. AND THE ARIZONA
SECRETARY OF STATE CERTAINLY
DOES. AZ OS.GOV. WE ALSO USE
ARIZONA DOT VOTE AND REDIRECT IT
TO OUR MAIN.GOV WEBSITE. SECOND,
DEEP FAKES ARE NOW ALMOST
IMPERCEPTIBLE FROM REALITY. IF
YOU SEE SOMETHING HARD TO
BELIEVE, THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD
SIGN THAT IT'S NOT REAL. TAKE A
MOMENT TO LOOK AT THE ORIGINAL
SOURCE AND ASK YOURSELF, DOES
THIS SEEM LEGITIMATE OR IS IT AN
IMPERSONATION? WELL, THAT VIDEO
WAS CREATED WITH THE ASSISTANCE
OF OUR COLLEAGUES AT THE
INSTITUTE FOR THE FUTURE. I ALSO
WANTED TO SHOW YOU A DEEPFAKE
THAT WAS CREATED OVER THE
WEEKEND BY SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT
HAVE A TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND.
HI, I'M AI LIZ HOWARD. THE REAL
LIZ HOWARD CREATED THIS DEEPFAKE
USING A CHEAP ONLINE TOOL. THIS
TOOL COULD BE USED BY BAD ACTORS
WHO PULL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
VIDEO OF AN ELECTION OFFICIAL,
SAY, FROM A LEGISLATIVE HEARING
TO TRAIN AN AVATAR LIKE ME WHO
PROVIDES FALSE INFORMATION
DESIGNED TO TRICK VOTERS. HOW
LIKELY DON'T YOU GERM, TO BE
TRUE, TO COMMIT TO THE TAMBIÉN?
FOR THOSE OF YOU LIKE ME, THE
REAL LIZ HOWARD WHO DON'T SPEAK
CHINESE, MY AVATAR JUST WARNED
THAT THESE DEEPFAKES COULD BE
TARGETED AT MEMBERS OF A
SPECIFIC PARTY, GENDER, RACE OR
ETHNICITY. AND WHILE THESE DEEP
FAKE VIDEOS RECEIVED THE LION'S
SHARE OF THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION
WHEN IT COMES TO AI, MANY
ELECTION OFFICIALS ARE CONCERNED
BY THE LESS FLASHY BUT NO LESS
POTENTIALLY DISRUPTIVE USES OF
AI, MANY OF WHICH I SECRETARY
FUENTES SPOKE ABOUT. FOR EXAMPLE
, EASILY ACCESSIBLE AI TOOLS
LIKE CHAT. OH, SORRY, ON THIS
SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE AN INNOCUOUS
LOOKING IMAGE OF A MAP WITH DROP
PINS INDICATING ABSENTEE BALLOT
DROP BOX LOCATIONS. AI IMAGES
SUCH AS THIS ONE CAN BE EASILY
GENERATED EVEN IN RESPONSE TO
SIMPLE TEXT MESSAGE PROMPTS, AND
THESE IMAGES CAN BE USED TO
DISRUPT THE ELECTION IN MULTIPLE
WAYS. FOR EXAMPLE, THIS MAP WITH
FALSE INFORMATION COULD BE
QUICKLY SPREAD ACROSS LARGE
NETWORKS, EVEN BY
WELL-INTENTIONED COMMUNITY
MEMBERS VIA WHATSAPP OR OTHER
MESSAGING SERVICES. AND ON THIS
NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE ANOTHER
EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE CONCERNS
THAT AI SECRETARY FONT HAS
MENTIONED. EASILY ACCESSIBLE AI
TOOLS LIKE CHATGPT CAN BE USED
TO COPY ELECTION OFFICE WEBSITES
OR THEIR OFFICIAL SOCIAL MEDIA
ACCOUNTS, AND PROVIDE FALSE
INFORMATION ABOUT ELECTIONS.
HERE YOU CAN SEE A SOCIAL MEDIA
POST BY A SPOOFED ELECTION
OFFICIAL ACCOUNT, FALSELY
INFORMING THE PUBLIC THAT ICE
AGENTS WILL BE AT THE POLLS. YOU
CAN IMAGINE HOW DISRUPTIVE THIS
COULD BE. AND HERE'S ANOTHER
EXAMPLE, SHOWING A SPOOFED
ELECTION OFFICIAL WEBSITE WITH
FALSE ELECTION RESULTS AND THIS
ONE HAS FALSE ELECTION RESULTS,
BUT IT COULD HAVE JUST AS EASILY
BEEN A FALSE LOG OF VOTERS
INDICATING HOW EACH INDIVIDUAL
VOTER VOTED, OF COURSE, MOST OF
THESE SCENARIOS WE USE COULD
HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT AI. NOW
AGITATORS CAN MORE EASILY LAUNCH
ATTACKS ON ELECTIONS ON A MUCH
LARGER SCALE. NOT SURPRISINGLY,
WITH THE WIDESPREAD AVAILABILITY
AND LOW COST OF AI, WE'RE
STARTING TO SEE ELECTION
OFFICIALS EXPERIMENT WITH THIS
TECHNOLOGY. ACCORDING TO THE
BRENNAN CENTER'S 2024 SURVEY OF
LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS FROM
ACROSS THE COUNTRY, 7% OF LOCAL
ELECTION OFFICIALS ARE CURRENTLY
USING AI. REPORTED USAGE
INCLUDES DRAFTING SOCIAL MEDIA
CONTENT OR PRESS RELEASES,
LOCATING POLLING SITES AND
TRANSLATING MATERIALS INTO
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. 13% OF
LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS HAVE
BEEN APPROACHED BY A VENDOR OR
OUTSIDE GROUP WITH PRODUCTS
ADVERTISED AS USING ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE. ALSO NOT
SURPRISING IN THE CURRENT
ENVIRONMENT. IN RESPONSE TO A
QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER
GUIDELINES BY FEDERAL, STATE OR
LOCAL AGENCIES FOR THE USE OF AI
IN ELECTIONS WOULD BE HELPFUL,
33% OF LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS
INDICATED YES, IT WOULD BE
HELPFUL, WHILE 45% RESPONDED, I
DON'T KNOW. IN CONCLUSION, FOR
YEARS, EXPERTS HAVE BEEN WARNING
ABOUT THE THREATS THAT AI POSES
TO ELECTIONS, EVEN BEFORE RECENT
ADVANCEMENTS, INCLUDING THOSE
FROM MISINFORMATION DIRECTED AT
THE PUBLIC, PHISHING ATTACKS AND
OTHER ATTACKS AGAINST ELECTION
INFRASTRUCTURE. MANY ELECTION
OFFICES HAVE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED
SIGNIFICANT AND SUCCESSFUL STEPS
TO PROTECT THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE
AND STAFF FROM THESE THREATS.
EARLY CONVERSATIONS AND
AWARENESS ABOUT AI'S
CAPABILITIES AND HOW TO PREPARE
FOR WORST CASE SCENARIOS WILL
HELP ELECTION OFFICIALS BUILD ON
THEIR PREEXISTING SECURITY PLANS
TO PREPARE FOR THE MORE
SOPHISTICATED AND WIDESPREAD
ATTACKS THAT I MAY BRING. BUT OF
COURSE, TO MOST EFFECTIVELY
RESPOND TO THESE THREATS,
ELECTION OFFICIALS WILL NEED THE
ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION OF
OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS,
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, MEMBERS
OF THE PUBLIC AND OTHERS. THANK
YOU AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO
JOIN YOU TODAY. I LOOK FORWARD
TO YOUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU SO
MUCH, MISS HOWARD. WE APPRECIATE
SEEING THAT VERY MUCH, WE'RE
GOING TO HOLD OUR QUESTIONS
UNTIL WE HAVE HEARD FROM ALL THE
PANELISTS. SO WE WILL NOW MOVE
ON TO OUR SECOND PANELIST FROM
THE CALIFORNIA SECRETARY OF
STATE. WE WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME
CASSANDRA PATTERSON TO COME
FORWARD. ACTING DEPUTY SECRETARY
OF SORRY, ACTING DEPUTY
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS. AND ALSO
MIKE SUMMERS, WHO IS THE
ELECTIONS SECURITY PROGRAM
MANAGER. THANK YOU FOR BEING
HERE TODAY. YOU MAY PROCEED WHEN
READY. HEAR ME. OKAY GOOD
MORNING, MADAM CHAIRS AND
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. I AM
CASSANDRA PATTERSON, ACTING
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS. ON BEHALF
OF SECRETARY WEBER, I WOULD LIKE
TO THANK THE COMMITTEES FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU
TODAY TO DISCUSS THE IMPORTANT
ISSUES OF AI AND ELECTION
SECURITY AS IT RELATES TO
PROTECTING OUR DEMOCRACY. THE
SECRETARY OF STATE IS THE CHIEF
ELECTIONS OFFICER OF THE STATE
AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR STATEWIDE
ELECTION ADMINISTRATION,
PROMOTING VOTER REGISTRATION,
AND ENCOURAGING VOTERS TO VOTE
AND PROMOTING CIVIC LEARNING AND
ENGAGEMENT. THE OFFICE OF
ELECTION CYBERSECURITY, CREATED
BY AB 3075, IN 2018, IS A
COLLECTIVE EFFORT INVOLVING
MULTIPLE DIVISIONS OF THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE. IT
HAS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON
ELECTIONS, ADMINISTRATION,
TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNICATIONS,
CYBERSECURITY AND PHYSICAL
SECURITY. TODAY, WE WOULD LIKE
TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH YOU ON
HOW THE SOS IS COMBATING THE
NEGATIVE USE OF AI TOOLS BY BAD
ACTORS. WITH ME TODAY IS MIKE
SUMMERS, THE SECRETARY OF
STATE'S ELECTION SECURITY
PROGRAM MANAGER, TO PRESENT THE
WORK OF THE OFFICE OF ELECTION
CYBER SECURITY IN OUR EFFORTS TO
COMBAT MISINFORMATION. WE ALSO
HAVE ADDITIONAL SUBJECT MATTER
EXPERTS FROM OUR OFFICE IN THE
AUDIENCE, SHOULD THEY BE NEEDED.
WE HAVE JANA LEÓN, CHIEF OF
ELECTIONS. PATRICK RYAN, CHIEF
OF SECURITY. TAMARA JOHNSON,
CHIEF OF FINANCE, NAKISHA
ROBINSON, VOTING SYSTEMS
SECURITY DIRECTOR AND JOE
CUSACK, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR.
AND I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO
MIKE. HI THANK YOU. GOOD
MORNING, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US
HERE, MY NAME IS MIKE SUMMERS.
I'M A REGISTERED ELECTION
OFFICIAL AND HAVE BEEN PART OF
THE ELECTION, OFFICE SINCE 2015,
THE OFFICE OF ELECTION CYBER
SECURITY WAS CREATED WHEN THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE
WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE
LEGISLATURE TO PASS AB 3075 AND
2018. THIS BILL ESTABLISHED THE
OFFICE OF ELECTION CYBER
SECURITY WITH A MISSION TO
PREVENT OR REDUCE ELECTION
RELATED CYBER INCIDENTS AND TO
PREVENT OR RESPOND TO
MISINFORMATION ABOUT ELECTIONS.
THE OFFICE WAS ESTABLISHED IN
RESPONSE TO THE UNPRECEDENTED
LEVELS OF MISINFORMATION SPREAD
DURING THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION. IN 2017, THE SECRETARY
OF STATE'S OFFICE WORKED TO
IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO BETTER
COUNTERACT THIS FLOOD OF
MISINFORMATION AND ENSURE THE
SECURITY OF ELECTIONS. SO,
FOLLOWING THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION, OUR OFFICE OBSERVED A
LACK OF COORDINATION AMONG
LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL
OFFICIALS AROUND THE ISSUE OF
ELECTION SECURITY AND RESPONDING
TO MISINFORMATION. THE SECRETARY
REALIZED THAT MORE NEEDED TO BE
DONE TO COMMUNICATE ACROSS ALL
LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT ABOUT
THREATS TO AND MISINFORMATION
ABOUT ELECTIONS. SINCE 2019, THE
OFFICE OF ELECTION CYBERSECURITY
HAS WORKED TIRELESSLY TO COMBAT
MISINFORMATION AND ESTABLISH
STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL,
STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES TO
PROTECT ELECTIONS IN CALIFORNIA
FROM EMERGING THREATS. AS YOU
KNOW, ELECTION MISINFORMATION IS
NOT UNIQUE TO THE DIGITAL ERA,
AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN PART OF THE
ELECTIONS INFORMATION LANDSCAPE.
AS LONG AS THERE HAVE BEEN
ELECTIONS, THERE HAVE BEEN
PEOPLE WILLING TO SPREAD BAD
INFORMATION FOR NEFARIOUS
PURPOSES. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF
THE OLDEST TRICKS IN THE BOOK IS
TO TELL PEOPLE, YOUR ELECTION
DAY ISN'T ON TUESDAY. YOU VOTE
ON WEDNESDAY. OTHER EXAMPLES
MIGHT BE PERSONS WITH
OUTSTANDING CREDIT CARD DEBT
WILL BE ARRESTED AT THE POLLS OR
TEXT MESSAGES SUCH AS VOTE FOR
YOUR CANDIDATE VIA TEXT MESSAGE
TODAY. VERSIONS OF THESE
MESSAGES ARE STILL USED TODAY,
DESPITE THE ADVANTAGES THAT COME
WITH BEING CONNECTED BY SOCIAL
MEDIA. WE HAVE ALSO WITNESSED
DRAWBACKS. NARRATIVES BEING
PUSHED AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
HAVE CREATED CONFUSION AMONG
CALIFORNIA'S VOTERS. THESE
NATIONAL VOICES ARE ACTIVELY
WORKING TO CONVINCE PEOPLE THAT
VOTING SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY IS
INSECURE, AND THEY CONTINUE TO
SPREAD WILDLY INACCURATE, FALSE
AND MISLEADING INFORMATION ABOUT
ELECTION TECHNOLOGY. IN
ADDITION, FOREIGN STATE ACTORS
ARE ALSO ABLE TO EASILY AMPLIFY
THESE MESSAGES OR SUPPLY
ADDITIONAL MISLEADING CONTENT.
NOW, THIS MISINFORMATION IS
PARTICULARLY FRUSTRATING SINCE
THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE
IS LEGALLY MANDATED TO CERTIFY
ANY VOTING SYSTEM PRIOR TO ITS
SALE AND USE. CALIFORNIA HAS
SOME OF THE MOST STRENUOUS
VOTING SYSTEM TESTING AND
CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS IN THE
COUNTRY. NEW VOTING SYSTEMS
APPLYING FOR CERTIFICATION MUST
UNDERGO MONTHS OF EXTENSIVE
TESTING FOR BOTH SECURITY AND
USABILITY, AND CONFIRMATION THAT
VOTING SYSTEMS DO NOT AND CANNOT
CONNECT TO THE INTERNET. THIS IS
JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW THE
INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT AROUND
ELECTIONS IS ALREADY FRAUGHT
WITH INCORRECT, OR EVEN
INTENTIONALLY DECEPTIVE
INFORMATION, SO AS ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY BECOMES
MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE, WE KNOW
THAT AI WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL
CHALLENGES FOR COMMUNICATING
WITH THE PUBLIC ABOUT ELECTIONS.
ONE WAY THE AI IS EXPECTED TO
IMPACT COMMUNICATION ABOUT
ELECTIONS IS BY LOWERING THE
BARRIER OF ENTRY FOR CREATION OF
MISINFORMATION. THE EASE WITH
WHICH BAD ACTORS CAN CREATE
CONTENT WILL LIKELY MAKE
REACTING TO MISINFORMATION EVEN
MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT ALREADY
IS. MISINFORMATION SPREADS
FASTER AND FURTHER THAN
INFORMATION THAT CORRECTS IT,
AND THIS IMBALANCE WILL ONLY BE
EXACERBATED BY THE ABILITY TO
CREATE MORE CONTENT MORE
RAPIDLY. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WILL
ALSO LIKELY IMPROVE THE QUALITY
OF MISINFORMATION IN OTHER
LANGUAGES THAT TARGET
NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS AND
SIMILARLY, IT MAY ALSO IMPROVE
THE ABILITY OF FOREIGN ACTORS TO
PRODUCE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
MISINFORMATION. ANOTHER
ESPECIALLY CONCERNING THREAT
FROM AI MISINFORMATION IS THE
USE OF DEEPFAKE TECHNOLOGY. THE
ABILITY OF A BAD ACTOR TO USE
THE LIKENESS AND VOICE OF A
TRUSTED SOURCE OF ELECTION
INFORMATION, THAT OF AN ELECTION
OFFICIAL, HAVE HAS THE POTENTIAL
TO WIDELY DISRUPT COMMUNICATIONS
ABOUT CRITICAL ELECTION
INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC. NOW,
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT EXPERTS IN
COMMUNICATIONS AND COMBATING
MISINFORMATION HAVE NOTED THAT
THE STRATEGIES ALREADY EMPLOYED
BY OUR OFFICE CAN WORK TO
PREVENT MISINFORMATION, WHETHER
OR NOT IT'S DEVELOPED USING AI
TECHNOLOGY. OUR KEY
COMMUNICATION GOAL IS TO PROVIDE
HIGH QUALITY AND EASY TO ACCESS
INFORMATION TO AS MANY VOTERS AS
POSSIBLE. THIS STRATEGY IS OFTEN
REFERRED TO AS PREBUNKING, WHERE
GOOD INFORMATION REACHES THE
AUDIENCE BEFORE BAD INFORMATION.
THIS REDUCES THE NUMBER OF
CLAIMS THAT MIGHT NEED TO BE
DEBUNKED. OUR OUTREACH AND
EDUCATION EFFORTS FOCUS ON
DELIVERING ACCURATE AND TIMELY
ELECTION INFORMATION AS
FREQUENTLY AS POSSIBLE. GETTING
ACCURATE INFORMATION TO THE
PUBLIC HELPS INOCULATE PEOPLE
AGAINST MISINFORMATION IN THE
FIRST PLACE. MAINTAINING
CONSISTENT MESSAGING AND
ACCURATE INFORMATION HELPS
COMBAT MISINFORMATION DIRECTLY,
AND IN THE CASE THAT
MISINFORMATION BECOMES VIRAL, WE
WILL RESPOND DIRECTLY TO ADDRESS
IT. OUR MESSAGES FOCUS ON VOTER
RIGHTS, DRIVING TRAFFIC TO OUR
WEBSITE AS CALIFORNIA'S TRUSTED
SOURCE OF ELECTIONS. INFORMATION
AND PROVIDING THE DIRECT CONTACT
INFORMATION OF ELECTIONS
OFFICIALS, WHICH ENABLES VOTERS
TO HAVE THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
OR TO REPORT MISINFORMATION
DIRECTLY TO OUR OFFICE. THROUGH
THE VOTER HOTLINE, WE USE A
COMBINATION OF EARNED AND PAID
MEDIA TO REACH AS BROAD AN
AUDIENCE AS POSSIBLE, AND WE
KNOW THAT OUR INFORMATION HAS
EXCELLENT REACH BASED ON SOCIAL
MEDIA ANALYTICS, AND WE AREN'T
ALONE IN OUR EFFORTS. WE
COORDINATE CLOSELY WITH ALL 58
COUNTIES TO PROVIDE CLEAR,
CONSISTENT MESSAGING, AND OUR
OFFICE PROVIDES HIGH QUALITY
RESOURCES TO COUNTY ELECTIONS
OFFICIALS, INCLUDING SOCIAL
MEDIA MESSAGING TOOLKITS FOR
EACH ELECTION, AND WE ENSURE
THIS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE TO
ALL VOTERS BY TRANSLATING THESE
MESSAGES. MESSAGING MATERIALS
INTO NINE LANGUAGES. WE ALSO
PROVIDE SECURITY RESOURCE
TOOLKITS THAT HELP IDENTIFY NO
COST SECURITY RESOURCES FOR BOTH
TECHNICAL AND COMMUNICATIONS
TOPICS, AND WE PROVIDE TEMPLATES
TO HELP DEVELOP INCIDENT
RESPONSE, CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS,
AND CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS
PLANS. IN ADDITION TO
COORDINATING COMMUNICATIONS
EFFORTS AROUND THE STATE, THE
OFFICE HAS BUILT STRONG
PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL, STATE,
AND FEDERAL AGENCIES TO BRING A
WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO
PROTECTING CALIFORNIA'S
ELECTIONS FROM ALL TYPES OF BAD
ACTORS, AND WE ARE CONFIDENT IN
OUR ABILITY TO RESPOND TO A
VARIETY OF SITUATIONS AND
SCENARIOS AS WE PARTNER WITH THE
CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF EMERGENCY
SERVICES TO COORDINATE THE
CALIFORNIA ELECTION SECURITY
TASK FORCE, THE TASK FORCE HAS
MANY MEMBERS, INCLUDING CHP, FBI
, CISA, COUNTY ELECTIONS
OFFICIALS, LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT, AND MORE. THE TASK
FORCE FOCUSES ON THREE MAIN
GOALS THE TASK FORCE HAS HELPED
TO DEVELOP AND CONDUCT ELECTION
SECURITY, TRAINING AND EXERCISES
FOR LOCAL ELECTIONS OFFICIALS ON
MANY SECURITY TOPICS,
PARTICIPANTS PROVIDE THREAT
INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION AND
BRIEFINGS GEARED TOWARDS
PROTECTING ELECTIONS. AND
FINALLY, THE TASK FORCE
COORDINATES PLANS TO SECURE THE
CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS IN CASES OF
EMERGENCY. FINALLY, WE BELIEVE
THAT OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS,
OUR EFFORTS AND THE EFFORTS OF
OUR PARTNERS HAVE MADE
CALIFORNIA A NATIONAL LEADER IN
ELECTION SECURITY. AND THROUGH
OUR PARTNERSHIPS, WE ARE WELL
POSITIONED TO RESPOND TO MANY
TYPES OF ELECTION SECURITY
INCIDENTS. COMBATING
MISINFORMATION AND CYBERSECURITY
THREATS IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS.
IT REQUIRES CONSTANT ACTION,
VIGILANCE AND PARTNERSHIP
THROUGH OUR ONGOING EFFORTS, WE
WILL CONTINUE TO ENSURE THAT
EVERY VOTER CAN CAST A BALLOT
FREE FROM INTERFERENCE AND WITH
EXCEEDING CONFIDENCE IN OUR
ELECTIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE
APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION.
ABSOLUTELY OUR THIRD PRESENTER,
WE HAVE FOUR TOTAL PRESENTERS.
OUR THIRD PRESENTER IS BECKY.
WAIT AND SHE IS JOINING US VIA
ZOOM. SHE IS THE HEAD OF GLOBAL
RESPONSE FOR OPENAI. MISS WAIT.
WELCOME TO THE COMMITTEE. HELLO.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? OKAY YES WE
CAN. GREAT FIRST OF ALL, I JUST
WANT TO THANK THE JOINT
COMMITTEE FOR THE INVITATION TO
PRESENT ON THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC,
MY NAME IS BECKY WAITE, AND I
LEAD THE GLOBAL RESPONSE TEAM
HERE AT OPENAI, THE WORK
INCLUDES PREPARATION FOR GLOBAL
ELECTIONS AROUND THE WORLD IN
2024 AND BEYOND, PREVIOUSLY I
WORKED AT META, WHERE I HELPED
DIRECT EFFORTS TO PREPARE FOR
THE 2022 AND 2020 US ELECTION
RUNS, AND I BEGAN MY CAREER IN
BOTH THE NONPROFIT AND PUBLIC
SECTOR, LET ME JUST I'M SEEING,
LET ME JUST SHARE MY SCREEN
REALLY QUICKLY SO THAT WE CAN
WALK YOU THROUGH A QUICK SLIDE
DECK.
OKAY. I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T THINK
I CAN SHARE ON ON, ON, ZOOM. SO
I'M. I HOPE YOU'LL FORGIVE ME.
I'LL JUST HAVE TO WALK YOU
THROUGH, VERBALLY, SO. SO,
QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE
THINKING THE REMIT OF OUR TEAM
IS GLOBAL ELECTIONS IN 2024
ACROSS THE WORLD, BUT WE ARE
OBVIOUSLY GEARING UP FOR THE US
2024 ELECTIONS, AND OUR APPROACH
IS REALLY TO CONTINUE OUR, OUR
PLATFORM SAFETY WORK BY
ENFORCING MEASURED POLICIES IS
ELEVATING ACCURATE VOTING
INFORMATION AND IMPROVING
TRANSPARENCY, WE HAVE A
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL EFFORT AT THE
COMPANY DEDICATED TO ELECTION
WORK, BRINGING TOGETHER
EXPERTISE FROM ACROSS A RANGE OF
GROUPS, INCLUDING, OUR SAFETY
PRODUCT TEAMS, THREAT
INTELLIGENCE, LEGAL, ENGINEERING
AND POLICY TEAMS TO MAKE SURE
THAT WE CAN QUICKLY INVESTIGATE
AND ADDRESS POTENTIAL ABUSE AND
IDENTIFY WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP
ELEVATE, POSITIVE INFORMATION
AROUND THE ELECTIONS, BEFORE I
DIG IN, I THINK IT MIGHT BE
HELPFUL TO ORIENT AROUND, HOW
OPENAI OPERATES, SO WE WERE
REALLY STARTED AS A NONPROFIT,
AND THAT NONPROFIT STILL GOVERNS
US, AND WE ARE REALLY DRIVEN BY
OUR, OUR MISSION TO BUILD
ARTIFICIAL GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
THAT IS, AI THAT IS AT LEAST AS
SMART AS HUMANS TO BE SAFE AND
BENEFICIAL FOR ALL OF HUMANITY.
THAT IS STILL SOMETHING THAT
DRIVES ALL OF OUR WORK TODAY. WE
HAVE A FEW DIFFERENT PRODUCTS
THAT AND SERVICES THAT ARE
BROADLY AVAILABLE, THE FIRST IS,
CHATGPT. IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU
ALL MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH. IT'S
A CHATBOT THAT HELPS PEOPLE
INTERACT IN A CONVERSATIONAL
LIKE MANNER, WE ALSO HAVE, WE
HAVE THAT AVAILABLE FOR FREE FOR
PEOPLE TO BROADLY USE, AND THEN
WE ALSO HAVE A PREMIUM VERSION
OF THAT THAT IS PAID IN ADDITION
TO THAT, WE HAVE SOMETHING
CALLED OUR API. IT'S FOR
DEVELOPERS AND ALLOWS THEM TO
ENGAGE AND BUILD ON TOP OF OUR
OUR SERVICES AND TOOLS FOR THEIR
OWN USES, WE ALSO HAVE TWO
PRODUCTS THAT ARE IN RESEARCH
PHASE AND ARE NOT BROADLY
AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC
CONSUMPTION, PUBLIC USE OR
DEVELOPERS, INCLUDING, A
SYNTHETIC VOICE AND VIDEO MODEL,
THOSE ARE STILL IN RESEARCH
TESTING AND WE HAVE NOT
DEVELOPED, DEVELOPED THOSE FOR
PUBLIC USE AT THIS AT THIS TIME,
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN
WE, YOU KNOW, IF AND WHEN WE DO
DEPLOY, DEPLOY THOSE, WE'RE
DOING IT REALLY SAFELY. THAT'S,
THAT'S TOP OF MIND FOR US, WE
DESIGN OUR MODELS WITH
PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVITY IN
MIND. WE RECENTLY RELEASED
SOMETHING CALLED THE MODEL SPEC
THAT OUTLINES HOW WE THINK
ABOUT, PUBLIC PRINCIPLES FOR
DEVELOPING OUR MODELS. AND WE
HAVE A SERIES OF SAFETY EFFORTS
IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT, WE
AS WE BRING NEW MODELS INTO,
INTO THE WORLD THAT WE REALLY
ROBUSTLY TEST THEM, SOMETHING
THAT WE DO IS CALLED RED TEAMING
, WHICH MIGHT BE VERY FAMILIAR
TO THIS GROUP, BUT EFFECTIVELY
GETS A GROUP OF EXPERTS TO TRY
AND BREAK OUR MODEL, IDENTIFY
WAYS THAT IT MIGHT BE ABUSED,
AND ALLOW US TO PATCH THOSE
CONCERNS BEFORE RELEASING IT
BROADLY, THIS IS A REALLY
ITERATIVE PROCESS. SO AS WE
DISCOVER NEW ISSUES IN THE
MODEL, WE PATCH IT BEFORE,
BEFORE PUBLIC RELEASE. SO
TALKING ABOUT SORT OF OUR SAFETY
STACK FOR THE ELECTIONS, WE HAVE
A THREE PILLAR MODEL. THE FIRST
IS REALLY AROUND PREVENTING
ABUSE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN,
MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE REALLY
GOOD POLICIES IN PLACE, MAKING
SURE WE HAVE GOOD MONITORING,
AND GOOD MONITORING AND DEFENSE
MECHANISMS IN PLACE. ON THE
USAGE POLICY FRONT, WE HAVE A
COUPLE OF POLICIES THAT ARE
PARTICULARLY RELEVANT FOR THE
ELECTION SPACE, THE FIRST IS WE
DON'T ALLOW IMPERSONATION ON OUR
TOOLS AND SERVICES, THIS MAKES
SURE THAT WE DON'T WE DON'T HAVE
FOLKS IMPERSONATING ELECTION
OFFICIALS OR, OR PUBLIC SERVICES
OR OTHER SORTS OF PUBLIC
INSTITUTIONS THAT MIGHT BE
CONFUSING FOR, FOR VOTERS IN THE
ELECTION CONTEXT, WE ALSO DON'T
DON'T ALLOW THE USE OF OUR
SERVICES OR TO BUILD ON TOP OF
OUR SERVICES TO DISCOURAGE
PEOPLE FROM PARTICIPATING IN,
DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES, I KNOW ONE
ONE OF THE PREVIOUS PANELISTS
MENTIONED, SOME OF THE WAYS THAT
FOLKS MIGHT GET DISCOURAGED BY
SAYING THAT IT'S AN INCORRECT
DATE TIME, CONFUSING PEOPLE
ABOUT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, OR
MISLEADING PEOPLE ABOUT
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, WE DON'T
WE PROHIBIT THE USE OF OUR TOOLS
FOR THAT SIDE, THAT KIND OF
INFORMATION. AND THEN FINALLY,
OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION,
WE DO NOT ALLOW THE USE OF OUR
TOOLS FOR POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING
OR LOBBYING, WE HAVE A BROAD SET
OF SAFETY SYSTEMS THAT ARE
REALLY BUILT FROM THE BOTTOM UP
IN TERMS OF OUR TOOLS. TO DETECT
UNWANTED CONTENT, WE ALSO HAVE A
REPORTING MECHANISM FOR USERS TO
REPORT POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS ON
GPTS, AND FINALLY, WE HAVE AN
ENTIRE INVESTIGATIONS TEAM THAT,
REVIEWS, LOOKS FOR AND TAKES
DOWN ACCOUNTS ASSOCIATED WITH
ANY KIND OF INFLUENCE
OPERATIONS. WE JUST PUT OUT A, A
REPORT EARLIER THIS WEEK, OR
LATE LAST WEEK, ANNOUNCING TAKE
DOWNS OF SEVERAL INFLUENCE
OPERATIONS. I WILL SAY TO DATE,
IT HAS, DOES NOT SEEM LIKE THERE
IS, REALLY EXTENSIVE ACTIVITY,
BUT WE ARE EVER VIGILANT LOOKING
FOR POTENTIAL ACTIVITY AND
MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, TRYING
TO CATCH THOSE, ACCOUNTS AND
REMOVING THEM, SOMETHING THAT
WE'VE HEARD IN THIS BRIEFING TO
DATE AND FROM OUR CONVERSATIONS
WITH POLICY MAKERS IS, THAT
DEEPFAKES ARE VERY TOP OF MIND
FOR FOLKS IN THE 2024 ELECTION,
GLOBALLY. AND WE HAVE INVESTED
SIGNIFICANT TIME AND ENERGY IN
FIGURING OUT HOW TO ADDRESS THE
RISK OF POTENTIAL DEEPFAKES,
FIRST, DALL-E, WHICH IS OUR
IMAGE GENERATION MODEL, HAS
GUARDRAILS TO PREVENT PEOPLE
FROM CREATING, IMAGES OF REAL
PEOPLE, INCLUDING CANDIDATES,
THESE ARE PRETTY ROBUST
GUARDRAILS. SO IF YOU GO IN AND
TRY TO CREATE AN IMAGE OF A REAL
PERSON, IT WILL REFUSE, WE ALSO
BELIEVE THAT WORK IN PROVENANCE,
MEANING THE ABILITY TO IDENTIFY
THE ORIGIN OF A PIECE OF CONTENT
IS, IS IMPORTANT WHEN THINKING
ABOUT THE POTENTIAL HARM OF
DEEPFAKES, PARTICULARLY, IMAGES
THAT MIGHT APPEAR INNOCUOUS BUT
TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT COULD BE
HARMFUL, AND WE HAVE A FEW,
ELEMENTS OF, OF WORK AROUND
PROVENANCE THAT WE HAVE INVESTED
IN, FIRST WE IN THE STEERING
COMMITTEE OF CTP, WHICH IS THE
COALITION FOR CONTENT PROVENANCE
AND AUTHENTICITY AND IMPLEMENTED
THEIR STANDARDS ON OUR IMAGES,
WE ALSO RECENTLY BEGAN PROVIDING
RESEARCHERS WITH EARLY ACCESS TO
A NEW TOOL THAT WILL HELP
IDENTIFY IMAGES CREATED BY
OPENAI'S, IMAGE GENERATION TOOL.
AND FINALLY, WE'VE ADDED
WATERMARKING TO A COUPLE OF OUR
MODELS AS WELL, WHICH IS A
DIFFERENT METHODOLOGY OF, OF
PROVENANCE. FINALLY, WE, WANT TO
TALK ABOUT SORT OF SAFETY BY
COLLABORATION. SO WE FREQUENTLY
PUBLISH OUR RESEARCH IN AI
SAFETY, OUTLINING BOTH OUR
APPROACH AND KEY FINDINGS FROM
OUR TEAMS, TO THAT END, WE HAVE
LAUNCHED A GRANT PROGRAM TO
PROVIDE $10 MILLION FOR, FOR
TECHNICAL SAFETY RESEARCH,
TACKLING ISSUES FROM WEAK TO
STRONG GENERALIZATION,
INTERPRETABILITY AND SCALABLE
INSIGHT, AND MORE, ALL OF WHICH
ARE ARE CRITICAL FOR US TO
FIGURE OUT AS WE CONTINUE TO
BUILD THESE MODELS, FINALLY, WE
RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THE CREATION
OF THE SOCIETAL RESILIENCE FUND
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MICROSOFT,
THIS FOLLOWS FROM THE MUNICH,
TECH ACCORD, THAT WAS SIGNED IN,
IN, IN, FEBRUARY OR MARCH BY
MANY OF THE INDUSTRY, COMPANIES,
AND OUR FUND HAS $2 MILLION
WHICH WILL PROVIDE AI LITERACY
TO, ELECTION AUTHORITIES AND
CIVIL SOCIETY IN KEY REGIONS
AROUND THE WORLD, WITH THAT, I
WILL PASS IT OFF. THANK YOU SO
MUCH. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
MISS WHITE. WE APPRECIATE YOUR,
SHARING THAT INFORMATION. AND
THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE YOUR
POWERPOINT IN THEIR FOLDERS SO
THEY ARE ABLE TO SEE THAT, OUR
FOURTH PRESENTER IS DAVID EVAN
HARRIS. HE IS THE SENIOR POLICY
ADVISOR FOR THE CALIFORNIA
INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND
DEMOCRACY. HE'S ALSO APPEARING
VIA ZOOM. SO WELCOME, MR. HARRIS
. THANK YOU, CHAIRS. BLAKE SPEAR
AND PELLERIN AND MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEES. IT'S AN HONOR TO BE
ABLE TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY.
I'M SORRY THAT I CAN'T BE THERE
IN PERSON. I'M RECOVERING FROM
COVID AND STILL TESTING POSITIVE
AND DIDN'T WANT TO GET YOU ALL
SICK, I THANK YOU FOR THIS
INVITATION AND FOR YOURSELVES
CHOOSING TO FOCUS YOUR PUBLIC
SERVICE ON SUCH A CRITICALLY
IMPORTANT TOPIC AS ELECTIONS, AS
INTRODUCED, I'M DAVID HARRIS,
AND I'M HERE IN MY SENIOR IN MY
CAPACITY AS A SENIOR POLICY
ADVISOR FOR CITED THE CALIFORNIA
INITIATIVE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND
DEMOCRACY, CITED THE NEWEST
PROJECT OF CALIFORNIA COMMON
CAUSE, CAME TOGETHER TO SEEK
STATE LEVEL SOLUTIONS TO THE
THREATS THAT DISINFORMATION AND
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE,
DEEPFAKES AND OTHER EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES POSE TO OUR
DEMOCRACY AND OUR ELECTIONS. I'M
ALSO CHANCELLOR'S PUBLIC SCHOLAR
AT UC BERKELEY, AND HAVE TAUGHT
AT THE HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
SINCE 2015, WITH CLASSES
INCLUDING CIVIC TECHNOLOGY AND
AI ETHICS FOR LEADERS. I TEACH
MY STUDENTS ABOUT ALL THE WAYS
THAT TECHNOLOGY PLAYS A ROLE IN
OUR DEMOCRACY. I ALSO PREVIOUSLY
WORKED FOR CLOSE TO FIVE YEARS
ON CIVIC INTEGRITY,
MISINFORMATION, AND RESPONSIBLE
AI AT FACEBOOK AND META, WHERE I
WAS, INCIDENTALLY, A COLLEAGUE
OF THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER, BECKY.
IT'S ALSO RELEVANT TO MENTION
THAT I'M A SENIOR ADVISOR FOR AI
AND ELECTIONS TO THE BRENNAN
CENTER AND HAVE BEEN A CLOSE
COLLABORATOR WITH OUR OTHER
PREVIOUS SPEAKER, LIZ HOWARD.
FOR MUCH OF THE PAST YEAR. I'VE
ALSO ADVISED THE EUROPEAN UNION,
THE WHITE HOUSE, NATO AND THE
UNITED NATIONS ABOUT AI,
DEMOCRACY AND DISINFORMATION.
BUT YOUR JURISDICTION CALIFORNIA
AND THESE TWO COMMITTEES IN
PARTICULAR, ARE REALLY THE
CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE AS FAR AS
I'M CONCERNED. RIGHT NOW, AI IS
A POWERFUL TOOL THAT CAN BRING
BRING GREAT BENEFITS TO PEOPLE.
BUT IT ALSO, IF NOT GOVERN
JUDICIOUSLY, HAS THE POTENTIAL
TO CAUSE GREAT HARM. THIS IS WHY
SO MANY AI COMPANY CEOS HAVE
THEMSELVES CALLED FOR REGULATION
OF AI, AND THAT'S WHY I
PERSONALLY HAVE CHOSE CHOSEN TO
WORK WITH CITED BECAUSE I
BELIEVE THAT LEGISLATIVE
SOLUTIONS ARE THE ONLY WAY THAT
WE WILL GET A MEANINGFUL GRIP ON
THE SCOURGE OF MISINFORMATION ON
AI AND THEIR IMPACT ON ELECTIONS
. WE SIMPLY CAN'T COUNT ON
SILICON VALLEY COMPANIES ALONE
TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR
DEMOCRACY. THERE ARE A FEW
REASONS MARKET PRESSURES ARE
DRIVING SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES
TO MAKE DRAMATIC CUTS TO
ELECTION INTEGRITY. TEAMS AND
CONTENT MODERATION MORE BROADLY.
ELON MUSK CUT TWITTER'S STAFF BY
81% AND MARK ZUCKERBERG SAID
THAT HE ADMIRED WHAT A LEAN
COMPANY ELON HAD HAD MADE
TWITTER BEFORE, THEN CUTTING
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FACEBOOK
WORKERS. AS SOCIAL MEDIA
COMPANIES SEE THAT THEY CAN NOW
GET AWAY WITH DEPRIORITIZING
THEIR EFFORTS TO FIGHT MYTHS AND
DISINFORMATION. I APPLAUD CHAIR
BLAKE SPEARS SIGHTING OF MARK
WARNER AT THE INTRODUCTION TO
THIS HEARING, AND SAYING THAT
WE'RE LESS PREPARED TODAY THAN
WE WERE IN 2020. I COMPLETELY
AGREE. SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
ARE POORLY STAFFED AND SOME HAVE
SIMPLY ABDICATED RESPONSIBILITY
FOR TAKING ELECTIONS SERIOUSLY.
I AS WELL IS A RACE TO THE
BOTTOM, WITH TRUSTED COMPANIES
LIKE GOOGLE NOW TELLING US TO
EAT A ROCK A DAY AND PUT GLUE ON
OUR PIZZAS TO KEEP THE CHEESE
STICKING ON THEM. I LIVE IN SAN
FRANCISCO AND SOMETHING I'VE NOW
HEARD TWICE FROM DIFFERENT
FRIENDS IN THE STARTUP COMMUNITY
IS THAT TECH TECH ENTREPRENEURS
ARE OPENLY TALKING ABOUT THE
NEED TO BUILD AI PRODUCTS FAST
BEFORE THEY ARE ILLEGAL. YES,
YOU HEARD ME CORRECTLY. PEOPLE
IN THE TECH INDUSTRY HERE IN THE
BAY AREA ARE TALKING ABOUT THE
NEED TO BUILD THE AI PRODUCTS
QUICKLY BEFORE THEY'RE ILLEGAL.
THIS INCLUDES PRODUCTS THAT
PRODUCE DEEP FAKE IMAGES, VOICES
AND VIDEOS THAT CAN UNDERMINE
OUR ELECTIONS. YES, YOU HEARD
THAT RIGHT. SILICON VALLEY WANTS
TO BUILD FAST BEFORE OUR LAWS
CAN CATCH UP AND THAT'S WHERE
YOU COME IN. BUT FIRST, LET'S
TALK ABOUT WASHINGTON. MORE THAN
ONE MEMBER OF CONGRESS IN
WASHINGTON HAS SAID SOMETHING
THAT IRKS ME IMMENSELY. A
VERSION OF THE STATEMENT THAT WE
FAILED TO REGULATE SOCIAL MEDIA
AND WE CAN'T FAIL AGAIN WITH AI.
I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT IDEA.
THE TRUTH IS NOT THAT WE FAILED
TO REGULATE SOCIAL MEDIA AS A
COUNTRY, BUT THAT WE ARE
ACTIVELY CONTINUING TO FAIL
EVERY SINGLE DAY TO REGULATE
SOCIAL MEDIA. WASHINGTON IS
LIKELY TO KEEP FAILING TO TAKE
MEANINGFUL LEGISLATIVE ACTION ON
BOTH SOCIAL MEDIA AND AI
REGULATION. EUROPE IS TRYING
HARD, BUT THEY CAN'T DO IT
ALONE. AND WHILE THEY'RE
ACTIVELY INVESTIGATE FACEBOOK
AND INSTAGRAM FOR ALLOWING
RUSSIA TO BUY ADS SUBVERTING THE
UPCOMING EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY
ELECTIONS, THEY HAVE NO
JURISDICTION HERE. THAT IS WHY
CALIFORNIA IS SO CRUCIAL. MANY
OF YOU HAVE HEARD OF THE
CALIFORNIA EFFECT AND THE
BRUSSELS EFFECT. THESE ARE TWO
POLITICAL SCIENCE TERMS FOR THE
EXTRATERRITORIAL IMPACTS OF LAWS
PASSED HERE AND IN BRUSSELS.
THIS APPLIES TO LAWS ABOUT THE
ENVIRONMENT, ABOUT PRIVACY
PROTECTION. AND AFTER THIS
LEGISLATIVE SESSION, I BELIEVE
IT WILL APPLY ABOUT ELECTIONS,
AI AND SOCIAL MEDIA. IN YOUR
BACKGROUND MATERIALS FOR TODAY'S
HEARING, I WAS PLEASED. EXCUSE
ME, I WAS PLEASED TO FIND
SUMMARIES OF TWO OF THE BILLS
FROM THE CITED PACKAGE. THE
FIRST IS AB 2655 BY ASSEMBLY
MEMBER BERMAN. THIS IS THE
DEEPFAKE DEEPFAKE LABELING ON
SOCIAL MEDIA BILL THAT REQUIRES
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO LABEL
ELECTION RELATED DEEPFAKES THAT
DECEIVE VOTERS ABOUT CANDIDATES
AND ELECTION OFFICIALS AND, IN
THE MOST EGREGIOUS CASES, BAN
THEM FOR A LIMITED, LIMITED
PERIOD OF TIME CLOSE TO ELECTION
DAY. THE SECOND COMES FROM CHAIR
PELLERIN AB 2839, THE DEEPFAKE
FREE CAMPAIGNING CLOSE TO
ELECTIONS BILL THAT BANS ONLINE,
THAT BANS OFFLINE ELECTION
RELATED DEEPFAKES THAT DECEIVE
VOTERS ABOUT CANDIDATES AND
ELECTION OFFICIALS IN POLITICAL
MAILERS, ROBOCALLS AND TV ADS
FOR A LIMITED PERIOD OF TIME
CLOSE TO ELECTION DAY, ANOTHER
BILL IN THE CITED PACKAGE THAT
I'D LIKE TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION
TO IS ASSEMBLY MEMBER WICKS AB
3211. THE CALIFORNIA PROVENANCE,
AUTHENTICITY AND WATERMARKING
STANDARDS. THIS IS NOT AN
ELECTION SPECIFIC BILL, AND IT
WON'T BE COMING TO YOUR
COMMITTEE, BUT IT IS A YOUR
COMMITTEE'S. BUT IT IS A
CRITICAL TECHNOLOGICAL TOOL THAT
WOULD FACILITATE THE ABILITY OF
TECH COMPANIES TO COMPLY WITH AB
2655 AND 2839. IT REQUIRES AI
COMPANIES TO INSERT INVISIBLE,
DIFFICULT TO REMOVE WATERMARKS
INTO BOTH AI GENERATED CONTENT
AND AUTHENTIC CONTENT. I WAS
ALSO VERY HAPPY TO SEE IN YOUR
BRIEFING MATERIALS A REFERENCE
TO THE FEBRUARY 2024 AI
ELECTIONS ACCORD SIGNED IN
MUNICH BY 20 MAJOR AI COMPANIES.
THE COMPANIES MADE COMMITMENTS
IN THAT STATEMENT THAT MOST OF
THEM HAVE FAILED TO LIVE UP TO,
INCLUDING ON APPLYING WATERMARKS
TO AI GENERATED CONTENT. MANY OF
THE SAME COMPANIES MADE SIMILAR
COMMITMENTS IN LAST JULY'S WHITE
HOUSE VOLUNTARY AI COMMITMENTS.
THESE TYPES OF DECLARATION
DECLARATIONS AND VOLUNTARY
COMMITMENTS ARE A JOKE WHEN
THERE IS NO TIMELINE FOR
COMPLIANCE AND NO ACCOUNTABILITY
MECHANISM, WE MUST ASSUME THAT
TECH COMPANIES WILL CONTINUE TO
PREDICTABLY FAIL TO DEFEND OUR
DEMOCRACY WHEN IT IS NOT LEGALLY
REQUIRED OF THEM. I WILL NOTE
THAT OPENAI AI REPRESENTED HERE
TODAY BY BECKY WAIT IS AN
EXCEPTION IN THAT THEY HAVE
APPLIED. THEY HAVE TAKEN
SERIOUSLY SOME OF THE
COMMITMENTS THAT THEY MADE IN
THOSE ACCORDS. BUT WHEN ONLY ONE
OR A COUPLE OF COMPANIES CHOOSE
TO COMPLY, IT LEAVES THE ENTIRE
ECOSYSTEM VULNERABLE AND DRIVES
ABUSERS TO SIMPLY USE THE OTHER
READILY AVAILABLE PRODUCTS ON
THE MARKET TO SUBVERT ELECTIONS.
AS AUTHORS OF TWO OF THE BILLS
IN THE CITED PACKAGE, CHAIR
PELLERIN AND ASSEMBLY MEMBER
BERMAN PRESENT HERE TODAY
DESERVE TO BE HONORED ALREADY
FOR THEIR WORK PROTECTING
ELECTIONS. I HOPE THAT IN FUTURE
SESSIONS, OTHERS AMONG YOU WILL
CONSIDER WORKING WITH CITED ON
ADDITIONAL BILLS, AS OUR WORK
WILL SURELY NOT BE DONE THIS
SESSION. IN CLOSING, I WANT TO
REMIND YOU THAT YOU ARE STANDING
ON THE FRONT LINES OF DEMOCRACY,
NOT FOR YOUR DISTRICT, NOT FOR
YOUR STATE, FOR THE WORLD. THANK
YOU FOR YOUR CRITICAL WORK TO
PROTECT OUR ELECTIONS. WELL,
THANK YOU, MR. HARRIS. THAT WAS
VERY INTERESTING, I, I WOULD
LIKE TO INVITE THE SECRETARY OF
STATE REPRESENTATIVES TO COME
BACK UP HERE. I HAVE A COUPLE
QUESTIONS BEFORE TURNING IT OVER
TO THE COMMITTEE. AND ALSO, I
KNOW THAT YOU NOTED THIS, MR.
HARRIS, BUT BUT BOTH OF THOSE
AUTHORS ARE SITTING HERE TODAY
WITH US, SO WE'RE EXCITED. THAT
CHAIR PELLERIN AND ASSEMBLY
MEMBER BERMAN ARE HERE AND COULD
OFFER ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
THAT THEY HAVE, BUT I'LL JUST
START. I HAVE I WANTED TO ASK
YOU, MR. HARRIS, ABOUT, WELL,
YOU SAID A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT
I THOUGHT WERE VERY INTERESTING.
SO ONE OF THEM WAS YOUR
IRRITATION AT THE PHRASE THAT
WE'RE ACTIVELY FAILING TO
REGULATE SOCIAL MEDIA. I THINK
ONE OF THE REASONS THAT, PEOPLE
SAY THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN, WELL,
WE SHOULDN'T LET THIS HAPPEN
WITH AI, IS THAT IT'S WHAT
BECOMES NORMALIZED. SO EVEN, YOU
KNOW, HOW DO YOU START TO TAKE
AWAY PEOPLE'S USES AND AN
EXPECTATION OF WHAT, WHAT TYPES
OF EITHER TIME CONSTRAINTS OR
CONTENT CONSTRAINTS, TIME, PLACE
AND MANNER RESTRAINTS, ANY TYPE
OF CONSTRAIN ON WHAT HOW PEOPLE
USE SOCIAL MEDIA? I THINK IT'S
THE SAME IDEA WITH AI. AND SO
THIS, THE, THE PHRASE THAT WAS
USED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE
LOWERING THE BARRIER TO ENTRY, I
THINK IS A REALLY GREAT POINT
BECAUSE PEOPLE WITH VERY LITTLE
TECH SAVVY CAN NOW DO THINGS
THAT THEY COULDN'T BEFORE. SO
BUT IT HASN'T BEEN WIDELY
ADOPTED YET. SO THE QUESTION IS,
WHAT KIND OF LEGISLATION OR
REGULATIONS DO WE WANT HERE IN
HERE IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
THE FIFTH LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE
WORLD, HOME OF SILICON VALLEY.
AND SO I WANTED TO ASK THAT
DIRECT QUESTION OF YOU, MR.
HARRIS. DO YOU HAVE LEGISLATIVE
SOLUTIONS THAT YOU DID? DID NOT
CITE NOT THE EXISTING BILLS, BUT
OTHER IDEAS THAT YOU THINK WOULD
BE MOST IMPACTFUL OR RELEVANT,
AND PARTICULARLY KEEPING IN MIND
THAT IMPORTANT BALANCE WITH THE
FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE CONCERN
ABOUT GOVERNMENT OVERREACH AND
ALSO GOVERNMENT BEING INVOLVED
IN POLITICAL SPEECH AT ALL. SO I
JUST WANTED TO SEE IF YOU HAD
ANY DIRECT SUGGESTIONS FOR US
HERE IN THE LEGISLATURE.
ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH,
CHAIR BLAKESBERG, FOR THE FOR
THE QUESTION, WE'RE ACTUALLY
CURRENTLY IN DISCUSSION ON THE
CALIFORNIA INITIATIVE FOR
TECHNOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY TEAM
ABOUT WHAT BILLS WE MIGHT BE
ABLE TO SPONSOR OR WHAT IDEAS WE
MIGHT BE ABLE TO BRING TO
POTENTIAL AUTHORS FOR THE NEXT
LEGISLATIVE SESSION. SO I THINK
IT WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT TOO
EARLY FOR ME TO SPEAK ABOUT
SPECIFIC BILLS THAT THAT WE
MIGHT INTRODUCE, IN ADDITION TO
THOSE THAT I MENTIONED, HOWEVER,
I RECENTLY, FACILITATED A PANEL
ABOUT ELECTIONS AND SOCIAL
MEDIA, AND I, WITH SOME SENIOR
OFFICIALS FROM THE EUROPEAN
UNION WHO WERE VISITING SAN
FRANCISCO FOR, ABOUT A LAW THAT
THEY HAVE IN EUROPE CALLED THE
DIGITAL SERVICES ACT AND THE
DIGITAL SERVICES ACT, CAME FULLY
INTO FORCE THIS YEAR IN
FEBRUARY, AND IT HAS SOME VERY
SPECIFIC GUIDELINES THAT WERE
ADDED ON TO THE ACT ABOUT THE
PROTECTION OF ELECTIONS. AND I
THINK THAT THE DIGITAL SERVICES
ACT IS A REALLY INTERESTING
MODEL FOR LEGISLATION AROUND THE
PROTECTION OF ELECTION
INTEGRITY, BECAUSE IT DOES NOT
IMPINGE ON FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION. IN FACT, IF YOU LOOK
AT THE DIGITAL SERVICES ACT, IT
MENTIONS MANY, MANY TIMES
THROUGHOUT THAT IT DOES NOT CUT
OFF ANYONE'S FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION AND THAT IT'S
PROVISIONS SHOULD NOT BE APPLIED
IN WAYS THAT IMPINGE UPON THAT.
THEY DON'T HAVE THE FIRST
AMENDMENT IN EUROPE, BUT THEY DO
HAVE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, OF
WHICH FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IS
ONE. WHAT THEY DO DO IS THAT
THEY REQUIRE ALL SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS AND SEARCH ENGINES TO
CONDUCT RIGOROUS RISK
ASSESSMENTS OF THEIR SOCIAL, OF
THEIR PLATFORMS, OF THEIR
TECHNOLOGY, IS TO SEE WHAT
IMPACT AND WHAT RISKS THEY'RE
PLATFORMS POSE TO ELECTIONS AND
DEMOCRACY. AS ADDITIONALLY, THEY
ARE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT THOSE
SAME KINDS OF RISK ASSESSMENTS
TO ASSESS POTENTIAL RISKS TO
MENTAL HEALTH, TO CHILDREN, TO
PUBLIC HEALTH, AND THEN AFTER
THOSE RISK ASSESSMENTS ARE
PRODUCED, THE COMPANIES HAVE TO
PROPOSE RISK MITIGATION
STRATEGIES. THEY HAVE TO HAVE
THIRD PARTY AUDITORS AUDIT THEIR
RISK ASSESSMENTS AND MITIGATION
STRATEGIES. AND THEY ALSO HAVE
TO ALLOW INDEPENDENT
RESEARCHERS, ACADEMICS LIKE
MYSELF OR PEOPLE FROM
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
ORGANIZATIONS TO HAVE DATA
ACCESS TO CHECK AND SEE HOW
EFFECTIVE THEIR EFFORTS TO
PROTECT DEMOCRACY AND ELECTIONS
ARE. SO I BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE
A NUMBER OF PROVISIONS IN THE
EUROPEAN UNION'S DIGITAL
SERVICES ACT AND ALSO THE UI ACT
THAT COULD SERVE AS AS
INSPIRATIONS FOR FUTURE
LEGISLATION IN CALIFORNIA. OKAY,
THAT'S INTERESTING TO HEAR.
THANK YOU. I WANTED TO ASK A
QUESTION ALSO OF THE SECRETARY
OF STATE. SO I UNDERSTAND THAT
THE PUBLIC CAN EMAIL,
INFORMATION THÀNH CAN EMAIL YOU
ABOUT INFORMATION THAT IS FALSE
OR MISLEADING AND THAT THE
SECRETARY OF STATE WILL LOOK
INTO IT AND HOPEFULLY DO
SOMETHING ABOUT IT. AND SO THE
EMAIL IS VÚI. SURE, SURE, SURE.
AT SOS SECRETARY OF STATE DOT
CA.GOV. AND I'M CURIOUS ABOUT
HOW MANY, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ARE
REPORTED TO THE SECRETARY OF
STATE, HOW MUCH FOLLOW UP YOU'RE
DOING, WHAT EXACTLY IS HAPPENING
WHEN PEOPLE DO EMAIL THAT? AND
I, YOU KNOW, I THINK OF
DIFFERENT AREAS WHERE THE
CONSEQUENCES ARE DO ACTUALLY
HAVE A CHILLING EFFECT ON
BEHAVIOR WE DON'T WANT, AND SO
AND THINGS LIKE, I MEAN, THE
SEVERITY OF CONSEQUENCES AROUND
LIKE CORRUPTION OR, IS SOMETHING
THAT COMES TO MIND OR LIKE
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, YOU
KNOW, WE HAVE WE HAVE A LOT OF
REGULATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES
AROUND DIFFERENT AREAS OF LAW
THAT HAVE TO DO WITH, WITH, WITH
DATA AND FACTS AND HOW WE
PRESENT THEM AND IF THEY'RE
MISUSED. AND SO I'M WONDERING
ABOUT THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S
INVOLVEMENT IN THAT PART AND HOW
ROBUST IT IS. YEAH. THANK YOU.
THAT'S A VERY EXCELLENT
QUESTION. I WOULD SAY VOUCHER IS
JUST ONE OF THE TOOLS THAT WE
HAVE TO COLLECT INFORMATION. WE
HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC THROUGH
MULTIPLE CHANNELS. OUR VOTER
HOTLINE IS ACTUALLY PROBABLY
MORE WIDELY USED THAN, THAN SOME
OF OUR EMAIL ADDRESSES. WE ALSO
HAVE MAYBE YOU COULD SAY THE
VOTER HOTLINE NUMBER OUT LOUD,
1800 345 345 345 VOTE. OKAY
OKAY. GOOD BUT WE YOU KNOW, WE
HAVE AN ELECTIONS EMAIL AS WELL.
YOU CAN GO TO THE ELECTIONS
WEBSITE AND EMAILS FROM THERE.
SO WE GET INFORMATION FROM THE
PUBLIC THROUGH MULTIPLE
DIFFERENT CHANNELS. I WOULD SAY,
REPORTING OF MISINFORMATION IS
NOT AS HIGH AS YOU MIGHT THINK,
IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THE
OVERALL VOLUME, MOST, MOST FOLKS
ARE CALLING FOR YOU KNOW,
WHERE'S MY POLLING PLACE OR I'M
HAVING A CHALLENGE, YOU KNOW,
VOTING THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
WE'RE WE'RE ALWAYS SOLVING THOSE
KINDS OF PROBLEMS AS WELL. BUT
WHEN WE DO GET REPORTS OF
MISINFORMATION, WE CERTAINLY
TAKE A LOOK AT IT. OUR
COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, FOCUSES
AGAIN ON LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW,
WHAT IS THE MISINFORMATION? OUR
EVALUATION IS MOSTLY ABOUT? ARE
THEY PROVIDING INCORRECT
INFORMATION? AGAIN, THINGS LIKE
ELECTION DAY IS ON WEDNESDAY,
THOSE ARE THE THOSE ARE THE
KINDS OF MISINFORMATION THAT WE
ARE CAPABLE OF, YOU KNOW, YOU
KNOW, WORKING ON LEGAL
CHALLENGES TO BUT, YOU KNOW,
SPEECHES IS DEFINITELY AN
IMPORTANT PART OF THE POLITICAL
LANDSCAPE. AND SO I THINK WHEN
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, COMBATING
MISINFORMATION, YOU KNOW,
SPEECHES IS CERTAINLY A
CHALLENGE, AND SO OUR LEGAL
TEAM, YOU KNOW, FOCUSES ON, ON
EVALUATING MISINFORMATION THAT'S
REPORTED TO US TO MAKE SURE THAT
WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, INFRINGING
ON FIRST AMENDMENT SPEECH, AND,
AND THEN WE ENGAGE WITH PARTNERS
AS WELL. WE WORK WITH NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF SECRETARY OF
STATE AND THE NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF STATE ELECTION
DIRECTORS, TO ENGAGE, AGAIN
ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH SOCIAL
MEDIA VENDORS AS WELL, AND
HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM
ABOUT OUR CONCERNS. SO, YOU
KNOW, WE TRY TO TACKLE
MISINFORMATION FROM MULTIPLE
ANGLES THROUGH MULTIPLE
PARTNERSHIPS. BUT SO JUST SO I
CAN GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING
OF THE SPECIFIC QUESTION, LIKE
IF THERE IS A SOCIAL MEDIA POST
THAT PUTS SOMEONE'S PHOTO AND
HATE SPEECH TOGETHER WITH IT,
AND SOMEONE REPORTS THAT TO THE
HOTLINE OR TO THE EMAIL, I MEAN,
ARE YOU FOLLOWING UP ON THAT? DO
YOU REFER THAT OVER TO LAW
ENFORCEMENT OR WHAT? WHAT
EXACTLY HAPPENS? IT DEPENDS ON
WHAT THE CONTENT OF THE OF THE
POST IS. RIGHT. SO THAT'S THAT'S
WHERE OUR LEGAL TEAM AND OUR
COMMUNICATIONS TEAM WORK HAND IN
HAND TO SORT OF EVALUATE THE
MISINFORMATION. IF IT'S, IF IT'S
MISINFORMATION ON ELECTIONS THAT
MAYBE IS SPREADING, YOU KNOW,
WILL WORK ON MESSAGING THAT
WILL, YOU KNOW, TRY TO PUT OUT,
YOU KNOW, DIRECT RESPONSES TO
VIRAL MISINFORMATION, BUT IF
IT'S, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S MORE
THREATENING, WE DO WORK WITH, WE
DO WORK WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.
OKAY. YEAH. WOULD YOU LIKE TO
COME FORWARD, SIR? YEAH, I'M THE
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, AND I
WAS. YES. GO AHEAD. I JUST
WANTED TO SAY THAT THERE'S SORT
OF A THERE ARE TWO APPROACHES,
ONE OF THEM IS NOT VERY
EFFECTIVE, AND THE OTHER ONE IS
MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE. THE SORT OF
WHACK A MOLE APPROACH THAT
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. WE WILL
HELP, WE WILL PERHAPS FORWARD
INFORMATION LIKE, MIS AND
DISINFORMATION AND CONSIDER IT,
BUT IT'S NOT A VERY EFFECTIVE.
AND AS HAS BEEN ALLUDED TO, IT'S
A FIRST AMENDMENT PERILOUS
APPROACH TO DEALING WITH MIS AND
DISINFORMATION. BUT THERE ARE
CERTAIN PATTERNS IN MIS AND
DISINFORMATION THAT WE TRY TO
AS, AS MIKE MENTIONED EARLIER,
WE ANTICIPATE AND THEN WE WILL,
RESPOND IN, IN TO INOCULATE
FOLKS SO, YOU KNOW, THEIR DATE
AND TIME, YOU KNOW,
QUALIFICATIONS, YOUR LEGAL
RIGHTS. THERE'S A, YOU KNOW,
THERE'S A VOTER BILL OF RIGHTS
IN CALIFORNIA, ALL THOSE THINGS
WE, DISTRIBUTE IN, IN VOLUME,
LIKE, HE MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE
PAID ADVERTISING ON SOCIAL
MEDIA. WE HAVE WE SEND OUT THESE
THESE MESSAGES, AND WE HAVE 51
MILLION, 41 TO 51 MILLION
IMPRESSIONS PER PLATFORM WITH
THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, THE AI IS
SOMETHING NEW THAT WE'LL HAVE TO
DEAL WITH, BUT WE'RE NOT IN THE
BUSINESS OF, INFRINGING ON
PEOPLE'S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
WHAT WE ARE DOING IS OUR
BUSINESS IS TO ENSURE THAT
PEOPLE HAVE ACCURATE INFORMATION
TO EXERCISE THE FRANCHISE. AND
THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A HUGE
ENTERPRISE ALREADY, YES, I
APPRECIATE THAT. I MEAN, IT'S
WHAT THE LANGUAGE THAT HE USED
WAS VERY GOOD. IT WAS
PREBUNKING. SO THAT YOU'RE
REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF, OF,
WHAT'S THE OTHER WORD THAT'S
AFTER THAT, DEBUNKING. YEAH.
YOU'RE PREBUNKING TO AVOID
DEBUNKING, RIGHT? CORRECT.
EXACTLY. SO I APPRECIATE THAT,
IT DOES SEEM LIKE THE WHACK A
MOLE. OR AS THE LANDSCAPE IS
SHIFTING, THAT THERE WILL NEED
TO BE. HE JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE
WOULD NEED TO BE SOMETHING MORE
ROBUST THAN THAT AS WELL. IT'S
CERTAINLY REALLY IMPORTANT. AND
I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE WELL
RESOURCED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
BUT WITH 58 COUNTIES AND ALL
THIS CHANGING TECHNOLOGY, IT
SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL NEED
MORE THAN THAT. IT'S ALWAYS A
CHALLENGE. AND I THINK THE OTHER
INTERESTING THING IS YOU NEVER
QUITE KNOW WHAT THE NEXT THING
IS, RIGHT? THE NEXT ISSUE, YOU
KNOW. AND SO WE DEFINITELY HAVE
TO CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE.
RIGHT. OKAY. GREAT. WELL THANK
YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL ON MY
CO-CHAIR HERE. WELL, IT JUST MY,
MY BILL WOULD ACTUALLY HELP THE
SITUATION BY BANNING THAT,
DIGITALLY CREATED MATERIALLY
DECEPTIVE MATERIALS 120 DAYS
BEFORE AN ELECTION AND AFTER AN
ELECTION. SO WE'RE HOPING THAT
THAT WILL GO THROUGH AND, AND
WOULD HAVE THAT INJUNCTIVE
RELIEF TOOL FOR PEOPLE TO COMBAT
ANYTHING THAT THEY'RE SEEING,
SO, SO I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT
THE CREATION OF THE OFFICE OF
ELECTION CYBERSECURITY AND THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE,
WHICH, OF COURSE WAS DONE BY
OUR, ASSEMBLY MEMBER, MARC
BERMAN, CERTAINLY PREDATES OUR
RECENT ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT
OF AI TOOLS. AND SO I'M JUST
WONDERING WHAT YOUR CAPACITY IS
TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES,
POSED BY AI AND THE THREATS TO
CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS. THANKS,
JEN. JOE. JANA, JANA GETS TO
ANSWER THAT ONE. SO THAT'S ONE
OF THE REASONS OUR JENNILYN
CHIEF OF ELECTIONS. IT'S ONE OF
THE REASONS WHY WE DO PARTNER
WITH STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES
TO ASSIST US WITH THAT. OF
COURSE, RESOURCES ARE ALWAYS
NEEDED TO. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
ARE ALWAYS NEEDED TO HELP WITH
US TO DEVELOP THESE TYPE OF
MYTHS AND DISINFORMATION
CAMPAIGNS AND HOW TO ADDRESS
THOSE AND AS QUICKLY AS
POSSIBLE. BUT I DO THINK THAT WE
HAVE, THROUGH OUR ELECTION
SECURITY TASK FORCE, TO TRY TO
FIGURE OUT AND IDENTIFY
ATTRIBUTION OF WHERE THEY'RE
COMING FROM, AND THEN TO
IDENTIFY POTENTIALLY WHERE IT
IS, WHERE IT'S SPREADING AS
QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. I THINK
THAT WILL HELP US COMBAT MIS AND
DISINFORMATION AS QUICKLY AS
POSSIBLE. ALSO, WE HAVE A LOT OF
CHANNELS THAT MIKE WAS TALKING
ABOUT TO GET INFORMATION OUT
QUICKLY TO COUNTY ELECTIONS
OFFICIALS. IF WE'RE SEEING
SOMETHING AT THE SECRETARY OF
STATE AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT
IT'S MIS AND DISINFORMATION
THAT'S OUT, AND THAT COULD BE
SPREAD EVEN FURTHER WITHIN
CALIFORNIA, WE HAVE AN ABILITY
TO DO THAT VERY QUICKLY, AND
WE'VE DEVELOPED THAT OVER THE
YEARS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT
THAT INFORMATION GETS OUT THERE
AND TO GIVE THEM TRUE
INFORMATION. IF WE HAVE PUT
TOGETHER A PRESS STATEMENT, IF
WE PUT TOGETHER A SOCIAL MEDIA
POST, WE WILL SHARE THAT ON THE
CHANNELS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S
EVERYWHERE AND THAT FOLKS CAN
ACTUALLY SEE THE TRUE AND
CORRECT INFORMATION. I JUST WANT
TO BE ON RECORD THANKING THE
SECRETARY OF STATE. AS YOU KNOW,
I WORKED AS A CHIEF ELECTIONS
OFFICIAL FOR 27 YEARS OR SO, AND
, JUST YOUR COLLABORATION WITH
THE COUNTIES AND YOUR ABILITY TO
WORK QUICKLY WITH THE COUNTIES
WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS HAS JUST
BEEN ADMIRABLE. AND SO THANK YOU
FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. THERE THE
OTHER QUESTION I HAVE HERE IS, I
LOVED LISTENING TO LIZ HOWARD
TALKING ABOUT THE TABLETOP
EXERCISES AND WONDERING IF
CALIFORNIA IS LOOKING AT DOING
SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT. WE
ACTUALLY HAVE ALREADY DONE THAT.
THAT'S PART OF WHAT THE ELECTION
OFFICE OF ELECTION
CYBERSECURITY. WE HAVE DONE A
LOT OF TRAINING AND A LOT OF
TABLETOPS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA. WE OFFER IT
TO COUNTIES SPECIFIC. WE CAN
TAILOR IT TO THEM IF THERE'S A
SPECIFIC TYPE OF SCENARIO THAT
THEY WANT TO GO OVER. WE HAVE
CONDUCTED MANY TRAININGS,
ESPECIALLY DURING THE SUMMERTIME
WHEN WE ACTUALLY HAVE A LITTLE
BIT OF TIME WHILE WE'RE
PREPARING FOR THE NEXT ELECTION,
WE HAVE A WHOLE SERIES. IT'S A
TRAINING SERIES, AND MIKE CAN GO
MORE INTO THAT IF YOU'D LIKE TO
HEAR ABOUT THAT. YEAH, I'D LIKE
TO HEAR A LITTLE. YEAH,
ABSOLUTELY, THANK YOU. WE'VE
BEEN WE'VE BEEN VERY EXCITED TO
PROVIDE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
TO COUNTIES. WE'VE TRIED TO TAKE
A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TRAINING
METHODS AND APPROACHES TO
PROVIDING INFORMATION, WE WE'VE
DONE SOME, YOU KNOW, LECTURE
TYPE SERIES ON A VARIETY OF
TOPICS INCIDENT RESPONSE, CRISIS
COMMUNICATIONS, CONTINUITY OF
OPERATIONS. WE'VE TRIED TO BRING
IN EXPERTS FROM OUR PARTNER
AGENCIES AND PROVIDE, YOU KNOW,
TECHNICAL AND EXPERTISE TO
COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICIALS SO
THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP THEIR PLANS AND CONTINUE
TO MAKE THOSE BETTER, WE'VE
PROVIDED, AS YOU MENTIONED,
TABLETOP EXERCISES, WHICH ARE
REALLY EXCELLENT, AND SOMETIMES
STRESSFUL EVENTS WHERE OUR, YOU
KNOW, YOU PRESENT THEM, YOU
PRESENT THESE COUNTY ELECTIONS
OFFICIALS WITH SOME OF THE
SCENARIOS THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE
BEING A PROBLEM AND BEING A
CHALLENGE AND ASKING THEM TO
COME UP, YOU KNOW, AND WORK
THROUGH THEIR PLANS SO THAT THEY
CAN THEN, YOU KNOW, EFFECTIVELY
TEST THOSE PLANS. WE'VE
PARTNERED. SO WE'VE CONDUCTED
TABLETOP EXERCISES THAT ARE
PRODUCED BY OUR OFFICE
SPECIFICALLY, BUT WE'VE ALSO
PARTICIPATED IN NATIONAL
TABLETOP EXERCISES THROUGH CISA.
THEY RUN A TABLETOP THE VOTE
EXERCISE EVERY YEAR. IT'S A
NATIONAL LEVEL EXERCISE, AND
THEY HAVE TYPICALLY GOTTEN 50
STATE ENGAGEMENT. AND SO IT'S AN
EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE
INFORMATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
HEAR FROM OTHER ELECTIONS
OFFICIALS AND OTHER STATES ABOUT
THEIR ACTIVITY. AND WE'VE IN
FACT, TAKEN AN ACTIVE ROLE IN
HELPING TO DEVELOP THAT EXERCISE
AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL. AND THEN
WE'VE RUN A VERY COMPLICATED
SIMULATION STYLE. TABLETOPS
WHERE WE GIVE THEM TIME
PRESSURE. WE RUN BASICALLY A
SIMULATED ELECTION DAY AND, YOU
KNOW, KIND OF THROW SCENARIOS AT
THEM, YOU KNOW, ON A ON A SORT
OF TIME CRUNCH BASIS, RUNNING,
YOU KNOW, RUNNING A FULL
ELECTION DAY IN ABOUT 90 MINUTES
AND PUTTING UP FAKE MEDIA, YOU
KNOW, SOCIAL MEDIA PUTTING UP,
INVENTED NEWS POSTS AND THINGS
LIKE THAT. AND THEN ASKING THEM
TO, TO SORT OF RESPOND. NOT IN
REAL TIME, OF COURSE, BUT IN,
YOU KNOW, UNDER UNDER TIME
PRESSURE TO REALLY SORT OF
HAMMER HOME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE
NEED TO MAKE DECISIONS AND MAKE
PHONE CALLS AND, AND MAKE THOSE
CONTACTS AND CONNECTIONS. SO
WE'VE DONE WE'VE DONE A LOT WITH
THE EXERCISES AND TRAININGS
AROUND THE, AROUND THE STATE.
THAT'S GREAT NEWS. THANK YOU.
AND I THINK IT REALLY IS GOING
TO REQUIRE ALL OF US WORKING
TOGETHER. AND THIS IS SUCH A
QUICKLY CHANGING LANDSCAPE AS WE
ALL KNOW. AND THINGS CAN HAVE
REALLY DRAMATIC EFFECTS WHEN
THEY ARE PUT OUT ON, ON SOCIAL
MEDIA. AND PEOPLE BELIEVE THEM.
I, I KNOW WHEN WE WENT TO THE
CITED CONFERENCE, THEY SHOWED A
PICTURE, A FALSE PICTURE OF THE
PENTAGON BEING BOMBED. AND ON
THAT DAY, THE STOCK MARKET JUST
CRASHED. AS A RESULT OF THAT ONE
PHOTO THAT WENT VIRAL. SO,
ACTUALLY, IF WE COULD BRING
DAVID BACK, I HAVE A QUESTION
FOR HIM AS WELL, I'M THINKING
YOU'RE STILL HEARING ME, SO I'M
GOING TO GO AHEAD AND ASK HIM.
YEAH, SO THANKS FOR ALL THE WORK
YOU'VE DONE, WORKING WITH THE
EUROPEAN UNION AND THE STEPS
THAT THEY'VE TAKEN TO REGULATE
AI, INCLUDING EFFORTS TO USE AI
TO INFLUENCE ELECTIONS. BUT THE
UNITED STATES HAS MUCH DIFFERENT
PROTECTIONS, AS WE KNOW, FOR THE
FREEDOM OF SPEECH THAN THOSE
THAT APPLY TO EUROPE. AND HOW I
KNOW THAT WE'RE GETTING
QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS. SO HOW DO
THE FREE SPEECH PROTECTIONS IN
THE US CONSTITUTION CREATE
ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES FOR
REGULATING THE USE OF AI IN
ATTEMPTS TO INFLUENCE ELECTIONS?
THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. I'LL
START BY THE COMPULSORY I AM NOT
A LAWYER. I'M A SOCIOLOGIST. BUT
I HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME
THINKING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. SO I
THINK IT'S ACTUALLY A POPULAR
MISCONCEPTION, THAT EUROPE'S
LAWS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA IMPINGE
ON FREE SPEECH AND THAT'S
BECAUSE I'LL EMPHASIZE THAT THE
LAW THAT I MENTIONED, EUROPE'S
DIGITAL SERVICES ACT, IT DOES
NOT CHANGE ANY DEFINITIONS OF
WHAT SPEECH IS, IS ILLEGAL OR
NOT PERMITTED. IT SIMPLY
REQUIRES THAT THE COMPANIES THAT
OPERATE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
AND SEARCH ENGINES ASSESS THE
RISKS THAT THEIR PLATFORMS POSE
TO ELECTIONS. DEMOCRACY PUBLIC
HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH AND
ADDRESS THOSE RISKS IN IN WAYS
OF THEIR CHOOSING. AND A LOT OF
THE DIGITAL SERVICES ACT ALSO
RESTS ON SOMETHING THAT'S CALLED
CO-REGULATION, AND THAT'S BUILT
UPON SOMETHING CALLED THE CODE
OF PRACTICES ON DISINFORMATION,
WHICH WAS ACTUALLY PRODUCED
BEFORE THE DIGITAL SERVICES ACT
AS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN
COMPANIES THAT THAT RUN ONLINE
PLATFORMS AND SEARCH ENGINES AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION, THE EUROPEAN
COMMISSION AND SO THERE'S THIS
IDEA THAT IT'S A BINARY THING.
IT'S LIKE EITHER WE STAY OUT
COMPLETELY OF SOCIAL MEDIA OR IF
GOVERNMENT GETS INVOLVED IN SOME
WAY, ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU'RE
CUTTING OFF PEOPLE'S FREEDOM OF
SPEECH, AND IT'S SIMPLY NOT A
BINARY LIKE THAT. THERE ARE
MANY, MANY WAYS THAT WE CAN
INSTITUTE LAWS THAT ALLOW FOR US
TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THE PROBLEMS
THAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ARE
CAUSING FOR ELECTIONS, AND GIVE
THE OWNERS OF THOSE PLATFORMS
AND THE OPERATORS OF THOSE
PLATFORMS THE TOOLS THAT THEY
NEED, TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES
AND ALSO GIVE THE PUBLIC GIVE
RESEARCH RESEARCHERS ACCESS TO
THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED
IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO TELL IF
THE PLATFORMS ARE ACTUALLY DOING
THEIR JOBS. ONE OF THE BIGGEST
CHALLENGES IS THAT THESE
COMPANIES ARE NOT ONLY
UNACCOUNTABLE, FOR PROTECTION OF
ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY IN THE
UNITED STATES, BUT THEY ARE ALSO
SO OPAQUE THAT RESEARCHERS AND
OUTSIDERS DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY
TO EVEN KNOW IF THE COMPANIES
ARE DOING EVERYTHING THAT THEY
SHOULD OR COULD BE DOING. ONE
EXAMPLE FROM EUROPE RIGHT NOW,
AND IF YOU READ THIS ARTICLE,
BEALL THAT CAME OUT A COUPLE OF
MONTHS AGO, ABOUT THIS
DOPPELGANGER OPERATION, IT'S A
MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN THAT'S
BEING RUN IN EUROPE BY RUSSIANS.
IT READS LIKE IT'S 2016, BUT
IT'S 2024. LITERALLY THE RUSSIAN
GOVERNMENT IS BUYING ADS ON
FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO
PROMOTE PRO-RUSSIA ANTI-UKRAINE
SENTIMENT IN WAYS THAT WILL
IMPACT THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS. AND
IT'S JUST IT IS SO DEJA VU. IT'S
ABSURD. AND SO I THINK IN SOME
WAYS MARK WARNER WAS
UNDERSTATING THE IDEA THAT WE'RE
WE'RE LESS PREPARED. I THINK WE
MIGHT HAVE BEEN MORE PREPARED IN
2016 THAN THAN WE ARE TODAY FOR
TODAY'S ELECTION. SO I YOU KNOW,
I THINK AGAIN, THE KEY THING IS
NOT NOT BUYING INTO THIS BINARY
THAT ANY REGULATION RELATED TO
PROTECTING OUR DEMOCRACY
IMPINGES ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
IT'S JUST NOT THAT. AND ANOTHER
ELEMENT OF THIS, AGAIN, NOT A
LAWYER, BUT IS THE QUESTIONS
AROUND SECTION 230 AND HOW THAT
EVOLVES. CONGRESS HAS SHOWN SOME
APPETITE TO MAKE SOME CHANGES
THERE. BUT IT'S NOT GETTING IT'S
NOT GETTING VERY CONCRETE.
SECTION 230, IS ALSO IN SOME
WAYS A BARRIER. AND THAT IS A
VERY OLD LAW THAT HAS A HUGE
IMPLICATION FOR WHAT WE CAN DO
IN, IN THIS COUNTRY AND NEEDS TO
BE NEEDS TO BE RETHOUGHT. THANK
YOU. I'VE GOT LOTS OF OTHER
QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GOING TO OPEN
IT UP TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO MAY
HAVE SOME AS WELL. OKAY. THANK
YOU. ASSEMBLY MEMBER BERMAN.
THANK YOU, CHAIR BLAKE SPEAR.
AND I REALLY WANT TO THANK CHAIR
BLAKE SPEAR AND CHAIR PELLERIN
FOR CONVENING THIS HEARING. THE
IDEA AROUND THE OFFICE OF
ELECTION CYBER SECURITY ACTUALLY
CAME OUT OF A SIMILAR TYPE
HEARING THAT WE HAD IN 2008,
2017, I THINK. SO I'M OPTIMISTIC
THAT THAT A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS
WILL COME OUT OF TODAY, AND I
APPRECIATE, THE, THE PRESENTERS
APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE
DOES. AND WAS IT WAS REALLY KIND
OF FUN AND INFORMATIONAL AND
ENLIGHTENING TO HEAR ABOUT THE
WORK THAT THE OFFICE OF ELECTION
CYBER SECURITY IS DOING,
ESPECIALLY WITH COUNTIES, AND
HELPING TO DISPERSE BEST
PRACTICES AND MAKE SURE THAT
THEY'RE GETTING THE RESOURCES
THEY NEED, AS OPPOSED TO SMALL
COUNTIES HAVING TO GO TO THE OR
TO THE OFFICE OF HOMELAND
SECURITY, DIRECTLY. SO IT'S
REALLY GREAT. I APPRECIATE THE
WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, I ALSO
APPRECIATE, OPENAI PARTICIPATING
TODAY, AND I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT
THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE
THINGS THAT A LOT OF THE AI
COMPANIES ARE SAYING IN TERMS OF
WANTING TO, Ã A LOT OF THEM ARE
ACTUALLY SAYING THEY WANT
REGULATION, WHICH IS VERY
ABNORMAL FOR TECH. THIS IS SORT
OF THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE
SEEN A BIG NEW INDUSTRY SAY, NO.
WE ACTUALLY NEED REGULATION. WE
NEED GOVERNMENT TO GET INVOLVED.
USUALLY THERE'S A STRONG
LIBERTARIAN BENT AND THEY WANT
GOVERNMENT STAYING AS FAR AWAY
FROM THEM AS POSSIBLE. AND I
THINK A LOT OF THAT IS VERY
SINCERE. BUT I WORRY AS AS MR.
HARRIS SORT OF ALLUDED TO, THAT
THE PRESSURE FOR MORE INVESTMENT
AND THE PRESSURE FOR HIGHER
VALUATIONS IS SO STRONG, WITH
THESE COMPANIES, ESPECIALLY WITH
SMALLER COMPANIES, BUT ALSO WITH
BIG COMPANIES LIKE OPENAI AND
OTHERS, THAT THAT AT THE END OF
THE DAY, WHEN YOU HAVE TO MAKE A
DECISION BETWEEN INCREASING YOUR
SECURITY OR PAYING MORE
ATTENTION TO YOUR RISK
ASSESSMENT TEAMS OR OR LAUNCHING
THAT NEW PRODUCT FASTER AND
GETTING MORE USERS AND, YOU
KNOW, INCREASING YOUR VALUATION
THAT THEY'RE GOING TO GO WITH
THE LATTER, AND I SAW THIS, WHEN
I WAS A BABY LAWYER, JUST OUT OF
LAW SCHOOL IN 2008, 2009,
WORKING FOR A BIG LAW FIRM. AND
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I DID
WAS I WORKED ON CREATING PRIVACY
POLICIES IN TERMS OF USE, FOR A
LOT OF ONLINE COMPANIES,
ESPECIALLY ONLINE VIDEO GAME
COMPANIES. AND THERE WAS THIS
GREAT VIDEO OF MARK PINCUS, WHO
WAS THE CEO OF A COMPANY CALLED
ZYNGA BACK THEN, ONE OF THE BIG
PLAYERS IN THE SPACE, AND HE WAS
GIVING A SPEECH TO JUNIOR
ENTREPRENEURS TO, TO PEOPLE THAT
WERE TRYING TO FOLLOW IN HIS
FOOTSTEPS. AND HE SAID, DO
WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO GET AS MANY
USERS AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN AS
QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. THE OTHER
STUFF WILL, WILL, WILL, YOU
KNOW, ALL KIND OF WORK ITSELF
OUT. DON'T WORRY ABOUT PRIVACY
POLICIES. DON'T WORRY ABOUT
PEOPLE'S PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMATION. GET USERS, JUST DO
YOU KNOW, THAT HAS TO BE YOUR
FOCUS. AND I SEE, I WORRY THAT
THAT'S ALSO THE FOCUS OF A LOT
OF AI COMPANIES, YOU KNOW, AND
AGAIN, NOT THE BIG PLAYERS, BUT
A LOT OF THESE SMALLER AI
COMPANIES THAT ARE TRYING TO
TRYING TO GET THAT MARKET SHARE,
TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING OF
THEMSELVES, AND SO I THINK
THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT
THAT GOVERNMENT STEP IN AND THAT
GOVERNMENT PROVIDE A RESPONSIBLE
REGULATION THAT DOESN'T STIFLE
TECHNOLOGY, BUT THAT DOES
PROTECT DEMOCRACY AND PROTECT
SOCIETY. AND I THINK THAT'S
EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
TODAY. AND SOMEBODY ALLUDED TO A
LITTLE BIT AGO HOW IT IS A
DYNAMIC SITUATION. AND WHEN I
FIRST INTRODUCED A BILL ON
DEEPFAKE TECHNOLOGY BACK IN
2019, I SOMETHING THAT I CAME TO
SAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS YOU
HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY WHAT YOU
WANT, MINOR EXCEPTIONS APPLY,
BUT THE FIRST AMENDMENT BEING
VERY STRONG IN CALIFORNIA, VERY
STRONG IN THE UNITED STATES. YOU
DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO PUT YOUR
WORDS IN MY MOUTH, AND THAT'S
WHAT THIS TECHNOLOGY DOES,
ALLOWS PEOPLE TO DO IS PUT THEIR
WORDS, THEIR THOUGHTS, THEIR
IDEAS INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S MOUTHS
TO GIVE THE MISREPRESENTATION
THAT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OR
ELECTIONS OFFICIALS ARE SAYING
THINGS THAT THEY DIDN'T SAY OR
DO. AND SO THAT IS, YOU KNOW,
WHAT A LOT OF OUR LEGISLATIVE
EFFORTS THIS YEAR ARE ALL ABOUT?
THAT WAS WHAT THAT EFFORT FIVE
YEARS AGO WAS ABOUT, AND, YOU
KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BE, WE'VE
GOT A COUPLE MONTHS LEFT IN THE
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS. THERE'S
STILL TWEAKING THAT. WE'RE DOING
, BUT WE CAN'T AFFORD TO NOT DO
NOT, NOT GET THIS RIGHT IN
CALIFORNIA, AND HOPEFULLY HAVE
THAT APPLY TO THE REST OF THE
COUNTRY. SPEAKING OF APPLYING TO
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY OR THE
REST OF THE WORLD. AND THIS IS,
I THINK, A QUESTION FOR MR.
HARRIS. BUT, YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT
OR. YEAH, I THINK FOR MR. HARRIS
IS MORE SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY
RELATED. BUT, ARE THE SOCIAL
MEDIA COMPANIES THAT ARE HAVING
TO CHANGE THEIR POLICIES AND
CHANGE THEIR PROCESSES IN THE
EU? ARE THEY ALSO APPLYING THOSE
CHANGES GLOBALLY, OR ARE THEY
JUST STICKING TO USERS IN THE EU
AND HAVING MORE LAX, SORT OF
POLICIES AND SYSTEMS FOR, FOR
OTHER USERS AND OTHER VIEWERS
ACROSS THE REST OF THE WORLD?
THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. THANK
YOU FOR THAT. ASSEMBLY MEMBER
BERMAN AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR
ALL OF YOUR WORK ON THIS ISSUE
FOR SO MANY YEARS, SO THERE ARE
SOME THINGS THAT SOCIAL MEDIA
COMPANIES ARE HAVING TO DO TO
COMPLY WITH THE EU'S LAWS THAT
PROTECT ELECTIONS OR THAT
PROTECT SOCIAL MEDIA USERS MORE
BROADLY, THAT ARE HAVING SIDE
BENEFITS TO THE UNITED STATES.
ONE REALLY CLEAR EXAMPLE WAS
MADE APPARENT TO ME WHEN, AFTER
GIVING A SPEECH AT BERKELEY A
FEW MONTHS AGO, A VERY NICE
GENTLEMAN FROM TIKTOK CAME UP TO
ME AFTER THE SPEECH AND HANDED
ME HIS BUSINESS CARD AND A FLIER
ADVERTISING TIKTOK'S, RESEARCHER
ACCESS PROGRAMS SO THAT LETTING
ME KNOW AS AS AN ACADEMIC THAT I
COULD GET EARLY ACCESS TO THESE
PROGRAMS. NOW, TIKTOK IS LEGALLY
REQUIRED TO GIVE RESEARCHERS
ACCESS TO THEIR DATA IN WAYS
THAT ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO STUDY
THINGS LIKE ELECTIONS OR MENTAL
HEALTH. IN EUROPE, THEY'RE NOT
LEGALLY REQUIRED TO DO THAT IN
THE US, BUT THEY DECIDED TO GO
AHEAD AND DO THAT IN THE US.
LARGELY. MY GUESS WOULD BE Ã
BECAUSE IT'S NOT A LOT OF
ADDITIONAL MARGINAL COST. ONCE
YOU BUILD THESE TOOLS FOR
RESEARCHERS TO HAVE ACCESS IN
EUROPE, YOU CAN JUST ADD IN,
RESEARCHERS IN OTHER PARTS OF
THE WORLD, AND ALSO BECAUSE, YOU
KNOW, AS WE ALL KNOW, TIKTOK IS
UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE RIGHT
NOW AND IS TRYING TO DO ANYTHING
THEY CAN THINK OF TO, TO LOOK
LIKE THEY'RE BEING
IRRESPONSIBLE. PLAYER, I THINK
IN, IN OTHER IN OTHER WAYS,
THOUGH, WE DON'T REALLY FULLY
BENEFIT FROM THE THINGS THAT ARE
HAPPENING IN EUROPE BECAUSE
SOMETIMES THEY'RE THEY'RE VERY
SPECIFIC, LIKE THE
INVESTIGATIONS THAT ARE TAKING
PLACE RIGHT NOW ABOUT THE
DOPPELGANGER CAMPAIGN THAT I
MENTIONED IN EUROPE. LIKE THOSE
INVESTIGATIONS ARE BEING RUN BY
EU STAFF. THEY REQUIRE, TÍNH OF
PEOPLE WHO WORK AT THE EUROPEAN
COMMISSION TO ENFORCE THEM. SO
WE'RE NOT GOING TO NECESSARILY
BENEFIT FROM THAT UNLESS BY
DOING THE INVESTIGATIONS, IT
FORCES SOME OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA
COMPANIES TO CONDUCT
INVESTIGATIONS. AND THEN REALIZE
THAT THESE ARE ACTUALLY GLOBAL
OPERATIONS, OR REALIZE THAT THE
ACCOUNTS THAT ARE DOING THIS IN
EUROPE ARE ALSO ACCOUNTS DOING
THIS IN THE US. SO I THINK
THERE'S A MIX, BUT I THINK
UNFORTUNATELY WE CAN WE CAN
COUNT ON EUROPE AS A SOURCE OF
INSPIRATION. THÀNH. AND WE CAN
OCCASIONALLY, EXPECT TO GET SOME
SIDE BENEFITS THAT COMPANIES
WILL BE RESPONSIBLE IN THE WAYS
THAT THEY'RE BEING LEGALLY
COMPELLED TO BE IN EUROPE,
VOLUNTARILY IN THE US. BUT I
DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET
THAT FROM EVERY COMPANY, EVEN
MOST OF THE TIME. AND SO I THINK
THE BETTER WAY TO THINK ABOUT
THEIR LAWS IS THAT THE COMPANIES
HAVE PROVEN THAT THEY CAN COMPLY
WITH THEM, OR THEY'VE
DEMONSTRATED THAT THEY'RE NOT
COMPLYING WITH THEM IN SOME
CASES, BUT, YOU KNOW, THESE LAWS
HAVE BEEN TESTED IN EUROPE. AND
IF THE COMPANIES CAN DEAL WITH
IT THERE, THEY CAN DEAL WITH IT
HERE, THEY CAN DEAL WITH
VERSIONS OF THEM HERE. SO I
THINK BETTER TO THINK OF US AS
HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN
FROM WHAT'S WORKING AND WHAT'S
NOT IN EUROPE. AND THEN, YOU
KNOW, LEAPFROG AND DO AN EVEN
BETTER VERSION OF IT HERE IN
CALIFORNIA FOR SURE. I
APPRECIATE THAT. AND THE LAST
QUESTION, BRING IT STATESIDE.
AND I THINK THE REPORT
REFERENCES THAT THERE ARE A LOT
OF STATES THAT THAT HAVE PASSED
LEGISLATION IN THIS SPACE. ARE
THERE ANY STATES THAT, YOU KNOW,
THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING TO
THAT HAVE PASSED LEGISLATION? IN
FULL DISCLOSURE, THIS IS A
QUESTION A REPORTER ASKED ME
THAT I DIDN'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO.
SO HOPEFULLY SOME OF YOU ALL WHO
KNOW, HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS
MORE CLOSELY. ARE THERE OTHER
STATES THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL
AT PASSING LEGISLATION, THAT YOU
THINK WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT
TO, TO EMULATE OR MODIFY? YEAH.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT
, LIZ HOWARD FROM THE BRENNAN
CENTER WILL ALSO HAVE ANSWERS ON
THIS. I HAPPEN TO HAVE A LIST IN
FRONT OF ME OF EXISTING STATUTES
THAT ARE SIMILAR TO THE TO BOTH
YOUR BILL, AB 2655 AND, CHAIR
PELLERIN'S BILL AB 2839, AND
THOSE COME FROM A MICHIGAN,
MINNESOTA, TEXAS AND WASHINGTON.
AND THEY'RE EACH DISTINCT AND
HAVE DIFFERENT PROS AND CONS,
BUT I THINK THAT THEY MAKE SOME
HEADWAY IN THE SPACE OF I
THERE'S A BILL THAT WAS SIGNED
BY THE GOVERNOR OF COLORADO
RECENTLY, JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS
AGO. THAT'S ACTUALLY NOT
ELECTION SPECIFIC, BUT IT IS IT
IS INTERESTING IN THAT IT, IT
DOES CREATE SOME ACCOUNTABILITY
MEASURES FOR AI COMPANIES. AND
IN SOME WAYS IT'S MORE SIMILAR
TO A BILL THAT JUST PASSED THE
ASSEMBLY BY ASSEMBLY MEMBER
BAUER-KAHAN. AB 2930, I BELIEVE,
SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD THE LAST
COUNT I HEARD WAS THAT THERE ARE
OVER 400 PIECES OF STATE
LEGISLATION RELATING TO AI RIGHT
NOW IN THE US THAT HAVE BEEN
PROPOSED. SO I THINK IN IN A
COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE'LL, WE'LL
SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT PASSES AND
WHAT DOESN'T. THERE'S A
PROPOSED, PIECE OF LEGISLATION
IN VERMONT THAT I'M, I FIND VERY
INTERESTING. THAT'S ACTUALLY
ABOUT LIABILITY STANDARDS FOR
AI. I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY
IMPORTANT FOR US TO THINK ABOUT
LIABILITY, VERMONT MAY MAY JUMP
AHEAD OF EUROPE ON THIS ONE,
ACTUALLY, BECAUSE EUROPE IS
WORKING ON SOMETHING CALLED THE
EU AI LIABILITY DIRECTIVE THAT
WILL TAKE ABOUT THREE YEARS
BEFORE IT'S COMPLETE. BUT IF
VERMONT, IS ABLE TO PASS THIS,
AI LAW THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON,
THAT, THAT THE LIABILITY
STANDARDS COULD, I THINK HAVE
VERY SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS.
AWESOME. AND I LOVE MICHIGAN,
MINNESOTA, TEXAS, WASHINGTON.
YOU'VE GOT BLUE STATES, YOU'VE
GOT RED STATES, YOU'VE GOT
PURPLE STATES. THIS IS NOT A
PARTIZAN ISSUE, AND YOU KNOW,
THIS IS REALLY AN ISSUE THAT
JUST IMPACTS EVERY VOTER. NO
MATTER NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE OR
WHAT YOUR BELIEFS ARE. SO,
THAT'S GREAT. WE'LL TAKE A LOOK
AT THOSE. THANK YOU. MY
PLEASURE. THANK YOU. ASSEMBLY
MEMBER HALEY. THANK YOU, MADAM
CHAIR, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
I'M I'LL START WITH MR. HARRIS
BECAUSE HE BROUGHT UP SOME
INTERESTING POINTS, AND I WANT
TO, DELVE A LITTLE DEEPER. I
ALSO WANT TO SAY, I THINK THE
FOCUS HERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE
ABOUT. I REGULATION. AND THIS
SORT OF SEEMS TO HAVE, DRIFTED
INTO DISINFORMATION REGULATION.
SO SO, MR. HARRIS, FIRST, I'D
LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS YOUR
DEFINITION OF DISINFORMATION? IS
HE UP ON THE SCREEN OR. THERE HE
IS. WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER
DISINFORMATION? THÀNH THANKS SO
MUCH FOR THE QUESTION. AND I
APPRECIATE THE POINT THAT, YOU
KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THESE
THINGS AND THEY'RE, CONNECTED
DISINFORMATION, YOU KNOW, THE,
THE DEFINITION THAT I USE FOR
MYSELF IS THAT IT'S INFORMATION
THAT'S DELIBERATELY BEING
DISTRIBUTED TO MISLEAD PEOPLE.
OKAY. WHAT IS MISINFORMATION? SO
MISINFORMATION IS INFORMATION
THAT MAY BE FALSE, BUT PEOPLE
MAY NOT BE DELIBERATELY
DESTROYED. TREATING IT THE SAME,
THE SAME PIECE OF INFORMATION
COULD POTENTIALLY BE CLASSIFIED
AS BOTH, DEPENDING ON THE INTENT
BEHIND THE PEOPLE DISTRIBUTING
IT. AND SO WHAT I HEAR IN YOUR
YOUR TESTIMONY IS THAT YOU'RE
CONCERNED THAT SOCIAL MEDIA
ISN'T DOING ENOUGH TO REGULATE
WHICH ONE MISINFORMATION OR
DISINFORMATION? WELL, ACTUALLY
BOTH. BUT I THINK THAT IN THIS
HEARING AND IN THIS PARTICULAR
CONTEXT, DISINFORMATION IS OF
GREATER CONCERN TO US. OKAY. AND
SO YOU THINK THAT IT'S A PRIVATE
SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY'S JOB TO
EMPLOY MODERATORS TO REVIEW
POSTS AND DECIDE WHAT'S TRUE,
WHAT'S NOT TRUE, AND TO TAKE
THEM DOWN? WELL, NO, ACTUALLY,
WHEN I WORKED AT FACEBOOK, I
WAS, BRIEFLY PART OF A TEAM THAT
SUPPORTED THIRD PARTY FACT
CHECKING. AND THIRD PARTY FACT
CHECKERS ARE USUALLY ASSOCIATED
WITH NEWS ORGANIZATIONS OR
ACTUALLY OUR JOURNALISTS,
REUTERS HAS A PROGRAM THAT DOES
THIS. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS
ONE THAT DOES THIS. AND SO THE
FACT CHECKING PROGRAMS
HISTORICALLY, THAT ARE RUN BY
SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES ARE IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH THOSE THIRD
PARTY FACT CHECKERS. AND THERE
ARE NOT REALLY ANY OF THE SOCIAL
MEDIA COMPANIES THAT WANT TO BE
IN THE BUSINESS OF THEMSELVES
OPERATING AS ARBITERS OF TRUTH.
AND THAT'S WHY THIRD PARTY FACT
CHECKING IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT
TOOL. IT ALLOWS THE SOCIAL MEDIA
COMPANIES TO FIND INFORMATION
THAT MAY BE CIRCULATING ON THEIR
PLATFORMS THAT'S BEEN CLASSIFIED
AS BY TRUSTWORTHY. THIRD PARTY
FACT CHECKERS, WHO, BY THE WAY,
GET CREDENTIALED BY THE
INTERNATIONAL FACT-CHECKING
NETWORK RUN BY THE POYNTER
INSTITUTE IN FLORIDA. AND THEN
THE SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES HAVE
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIMPLY PLACE
A LABEL THAT SUMMARIZES THE
INFORMATION FROM THE INDEPENDENT
FACT CHECKER, AND A LINK THAT
TAKES YOU TO THE WEBSITE OF THAT
FACT CHECKER IF YOU WANT TO
LEARN MORE. I JUST I'M BAFFLED
THAT THAT THAT WE THINK THAT
THERE COULD BE SOME INDEPENDENT
THIRD PARTY THAT WE DESIGNATE AS
THE TELLERS OF FACTS. SO YOU'RE
SAYING THAT NEWS COMPANIES. I SO
DISAGREE WITH THIS MODEL. NEWS
COMPANIES ARE THE ARBITERS OF
THE TRUTH, WHICH THEY'VE NEVER
GOTTEN ANYTHING WRONG, AND SO IF
THEY DECIDE SOMETHING'S
MISINFORMATION OR
DISINFORMATION, THE SOCIAL MEDIA
SHOULD TAKE THAT DOWN. LET ME
ASK YOU THIS, WHEN THEY SAID IN
THE 2020 ELECTION THAT THE
HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP WAS RUSSIAN
DESCENT INFORMATION, WAS THAT
TRUE OR NOT TRUE? SO I'M I'M NOT
AN EXPERT ON THAT PARTICULAR
CASE. BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT
THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT THIRD
PARTY FACT CHECKERS IS THAT
THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY NOT
NECESSARILY PARTIZAN, AND THAT
THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT THIRD
PARTY FACT CHECKERS OUT THERE.
AND ORGANIZATIONS FROM, THAT
DON'T HAVE ANY POLITICAL VALENCE
AT ALL HAVE BECOME THIRD PARTY
FACT CHECKERS. AND THERE ARE
ALSO, NEWS ORGANIZATIONS FROM
BOTH THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT THAT
ARE TRADITIONALLY ASSOCIATED
WITH THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT, WHO
HAVE ALSO GOTTEN INTO THE
BUSINESS OF THIRD PARTY FACT
CHECKING. AND IF MULTIPLE FACT
CHECKERS DISAGREE, THEN THAT CAN
BE DISPLAYED IN SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS AS WELL. I'M
PERSONALLY NOT READY YET TO GIVE
UP ON THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION OF
JOURNALISM OR ATTEMPTS TO KNOW
WHAT IS TRUE AND WHAT IS FALSE,
AND THAT'S WHY I BELIEVE THAT
IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE
PROFESSIONALS WHO MAKE IT THEIR
FULL TIME JOBS, WHETHER THEY'RE
ON THE RIGHT OR THE LEFT, TO
UNCOVER THE TRUTH AND REPORT IT
TO US AND SHARE IT WITH US ON
MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PLATFORMS. OKAY. WELL, LET ME
LET ME ASK YOU THIS BECAUSE YOU
I WANT TO DIG INTO THIS BECAUSE
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
MISINFORMATION AS IT APPLIES TO
ELECTIONS. YOU SAID RUSSIA IS
BUYING ADS IN EUROPE TO
INFLUENCE THE ELECTION, WHICH
YOU SAID IS DEJA VU TO WHAT
HAPPENED HERE. WHAT ARE YOU
REFERRING TO AS THE DEJA VU?
WELL, IN THE LEAD UP TO THE 2016
ELECTION, WHICH IS WELL
DOCUMENTED IN THE MUELLER REPORT
, THAT THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT
OPERATIONS FINANCED BY THE
RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. ONE WAS RUN
BY THE RUSSIAN INTERNET RESEARCH
AGENCY, WHICH WAS A BUSINESS
OPERATED BY THE LATE YEVGENY
PRIGOZHIN, A RUSSIAN OLIGARCH.
HE RAN IT OUT OF SAINT
PETERSBURG. IT HAD AN OFFICE
WHERE REPORTEDLY AROUND A
THOUSAND PEOPLE WENT TO WORK
EVERY DAY TO GO AND CREATE FAKE
CONTENT AND INTERFERE IN
ELECTIONS. AND IN PARALLEL,
THERE WAS AN OPERATION RUN BY
THE RUSSIAN GRU MILITARY
INTELLIGENCE UNIT, AND BOTH OF
THOSE OPERATIONS WERE HEAVILY
ENGAGED IN BOTH PRODUCING LARGE
AMOUNTS OF ORGANIC CONTENT,
MEANING CONTENT THAT THEY SIMPLY
POSTED POSING TO BE REAL PEOPLE
IN THE UNITED STATES, OR POSING
TO BE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE
UNITED STATES, BUT ALSO
PURCHASING ADS, BUYING ADS ON
THOSE PLATFORMS. ANY OF THE
DISTRIBUTE APOLOGIZE TO CATCH
YOU OFF JUST IN THE INTEREST OF
TIME. DID ANY OF THAT HAVE AN
IMPACT ON THE ELECTION? WELL,
THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT
THE PLATFORMS THAT CONTROL THE
INFORMATION HAVE NOT
HISTORICALLY MADE THAT
INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO
RESEARCHERS WHO COULD ANSWER
THAT QUESTION AND HAVE CHOSEN
NOT TO INVEST THE FUNDS, OR THE
TIME BY RESEARCHERS WHO WORK IN
THOSE PLATFORMS TO ACTUALLY
ANALYZE WHAT DID HAPPEN IN 2016.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, THAT RESEARCH
SIMPLY HAS NOT BEEN DONE, AND
PEOPLE WHO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT
INFORMATION HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO
DO IT. AND PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE
TO DO THAT RESEARCH CANNOT DO
IT. THERE'S NO EVIDENCE ANYTHING
THAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED HAD AN
IMPACT ON THE ELECTION. LET ME
JUST ASK THIS LAST QUESTION FOR
YOU AND THEN I'LL MOVE ON. OKAY.
BUT ASSEMBLY MEMBER SALIH, I
JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE
TIME FOR OTHER PEOPLE AND FOR
PUBLIC COMMENT. SO I UNDERSTAND.
SO JUST IF WE COULD GET A FEW
MORE. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU, THIS DIGITAL SERVICES
ACT, DEAL THAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING
THAT WE IMPLEMENT. I DON'T
UNDERSTAND. SO HOW WOULD A
SOCIAL COMPANY KNOW WHAT'S A
RISK TO DEMOCRACY? THAT'S THAT'S
A GENERIC AND BROAD TERM THAT
ENCOMPASSES IS BASICALLY
EVERYTHING. SO HOW DO YOU DEFINE
WHAT A RISK TO DEMOCRACY IS?
THAT'S SO BROAD. WELL, YEAH.
SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES ARE BIG
COMPANIES THAT HAVE LOTS OF
DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITIES. AND
CONVERSATIONS THAT TAKE PLACE ON
THEM. RISKS TO DEMOCRACY CAN
TAKE MANY DIFFERENT FORMS. A
RISK TO DEMOCRACY MIGHT MEAN
SOMEONE SPREADING INFORMATION
THAT AN ELECTION IS TAKING PLACE
ON A DIFFERENT DAY THAN IT IS
ACTUALLY TAKING PLACE. THAT
MIGHT GIVE PEOPLE INCORRECT
INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE TO VOTE,
HOW TO VOTE. IT COULD ALSO MEAN
PEOPLE SPREADING INFORMATION
THAT IS A DEEP FAKE THAT HAS,
FOR EXAMPLE, A FAKE PICTURE OF
DONALD TRUMP HUGGING ANTHONY
FAUCI, SUCH AS THE ONE THAT WAS
CREATED BY THE DESANTIS CAMPAIGN
. SO THOSE THOSE ARE EXAMPLES OF
RISKS TO ELECTIONS WHERE PEOPLE
CAN INTERFERE IN BOTH THE
MECHANISMS OF CONDUCTING THE
ELECTIONS THEMSELVES AND ALSO
WHERE PEOPLE CAN SABOTAGE
INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES THROUGH
THE USE OF DISTRIBUTING FAKE
INFORMATION. OKAY, I JUST, I'LL
SAVE MY CLOSING COMMENTS FOR THE
END. I JUST HAVE A COUPLE
QUESTIONS FOR MISS HOWARD. MISS
HOWARD, I ASSUME YOU ARE A
LAWYER, MISS HOWARD. ACTUALLY
HAD TO LEAVE. OH. SHE LEFT. I'M
SORRY. SORRY. SO WE HAVE NO
LAWYERS, OKAY. BUT WE HAVE TWO
OTHER PEOPLE. ASSEMBLY MEMBERS
WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK. WE NEED
PUBLIC COMMENTS. AND THEN WE CAN
GO TO YOUR CLOSING. OKAY WE'LL
DO THAT. I JUST FOR THE FOR THE
LAWYER PART, I'LL JUST SAY, I'LL
CLOSE. SAVE THAT FOR CLOSING. I
DID HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR MISS
BECKY. WAIT, DO WE STILL HAVE
HER? DO WE STILL HAVE? YES, YES
WE DO. I AM HERE, OKAY, MISS.
WAIT. I SEE WE PUT A LOT OF
EMPHASIS ON TRYING TO LABEL
THINGS THAT MAY BE AI GENERATED
OR NOT. TRUE. AND I OFTEN
WONDER, IS IT? DO YOU THINK A
BETTER APPROACH OR MAYBE
SOMETHING TO LOOK AT WHEN WE
WANT TO LABEL THINGS THAT ARE
AUTHENTIC? AND SO I KNOW A LOT
OF TIMES WHEN I'M CONSIDERING
INFORMATION, A POST OR
SOMETHING, I LOOK AT, THE SOURCE
I LIKE TO SEE IS THIS AN
AUTHENTIC SOURCE? IS THIS LEGIT?
SO IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'VE
GIVEN THOUGHT OF AND SAID?
BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THE AMOUNT
OF INCORRECT OR, YOU KNOW, NOT
AUTHENTIC INFORMATION IS LIKE
UNLIMITED, BUT THE AMOUNT OF
AUTHENTIC REAL, CREDIBLE
INFORMATION IS MORE LIMITED. SO
MAYBE WE FOCUS ON LABELING THOSE
THINGS. YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A
GREAT QUESTION. AND I THINK
PROVENANCE IS, I TALKED A LITTLE
BIT ABOUT PROVENANCE IN MY, IN
MY, OPENING REMARKS. I THINK THE
ISSUE OF PROVENANCE IS REALLY
TWO VERTICALS. ONE IS, IS,
HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE
ORIGIN OF A PIECE OF CONTENT,
REGARDLESS OF WHERE THE ORIGIN
IS, IF IT'S QUOTE UNQUOTE
AUTHENTIC OR GENERATED OR
MODIFIED OR ALTERED IN SOME
OTHER WAY, AND, AND THE WORK
THAT WE'RE DOING WITH KUPA, I
THINK IS BEST SUITED FOR THAT. A
LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT ON HOW
THAT WORKS. KUPA IS A PIECE OF
METADATA THAT'S ATTACHED TO A
PIECE OF CONTENT. YOU CAN THINK
OF IT A LITTLE BIT LIKE A
PASSPORT, SO IT TRAVELS AROUND
WITH AN IMAGE OR A FILE, AND
ALLOWS YOU TO SEE WHERE IT
ORIGINALLY CAME FROM. THE THING
THAT'S GREAT ABOUT KUPA IS IT'S
REALLY HARD TO FAKE, YOU CAN'T
PRETEND IT CAME FROM SOMEWHERE.
IT DIDN'T, BUT IT'S EASY TO
REMOVE. AND I THINK EXACTLY TO
YOUR POINT, THAT LENDS ITSELF
VERY WELL TO, LABELING, YOU
KNOW, POTENTIALLY AUTHENTIC
IMAGES. IN FACT, CTP IS NOT
JUST, A COALITION OF TECH
INDUSTRY BODIES, BUT, ALSO
INCLUDES OTHER INDUSTRIES,
INCLUDING THE MEDIA, CAMERA
MAKERS AND, I THINK THAT, YOU
KNOW, THAT IS LIKELY THE FUTURE
OF WHERE PROVENANCE IS GOING.
THERE ARE OTHER TOOLS THAT ARE
BETTER FOR IDENTIFYING,
SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN
GENERATED OR ALTERED, AND I
THINK THAT'S A SUBSET OF A
DIFFERENT PROBLEM, BUT I AM I'M
VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE, SORT OF
FUTURE WORK ON LABELING
AUTHENTIC CONTENT, AND GENERALLY
JUST SO I UNDERSTAND, WOULD
THERE SO THE IF I'M ON ONLINE,
HOW WOULD I KNOW SOMETHING IS
AUTHENTIC? IS IT GOING TO HAVE
LIKE A LABEL OR DO WE USE A
THIRD PARTY AUTHENTICATOR. WHAT
IS THAT FUTURE LOOK LIKE?
BECAUSE, YEAH. SO KUPA, THERE'S
A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WEBSITE
THAT YOU CAN GO ON AND DROP IN A
FILE, AND IF THAT FILE HAS KUPA
ON IT, THAT METADATA IS
ATTACHED, IT WILL TELL YOU WHERE
IT CAME FROM. THE, THE ORIGIN OF
THAT PIECE OF CONTENT. SO, SO
I'M SURE AS THIS TECHNOLOGY GETS
BETTER, WE COULD HAVE THINGS
SITTING ON OUR PHONES TO TELL US
WHAT'S AUTHENTIC OR WHAT'S NOT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THE A GREAT
EXAMPLE HERE IS AN IMAGE BY A
JOURNALIST. YOU WANT TO BE ABLE
TO VERIFY THAT THAT IS
AUTHENTIC. IT CAME DIRECTLY FROM
A CAMERA. IT HASN'T BEEN ALTERED
OR MODIFIED IN SOME WAY. AND CæA
ALLOWS FOR THAT. THAT'S GREAT,
SO YEAH, PROVENANCE IS A IS A
COMPLICATED ISSUE. YOU NEED A
LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO ADDRESS
IT, BUT I AGREE WITH YOU THAT
AUTHENTICITY IS A MAJOR, MAJOR
AREA. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK
YOU. OKAY. GREAT. ASSEMBLY
MEMBER WEBER. THANK YOU. CHAIR,
AND THANK YOU TO BOTH CHAIRS FOR
ACTUALLY PUTTING THIS VERY
IMPORTANT INFORMATIONAL HEARING
TOGETHER AND FOR ALL WHO CAME TO
SIT ON THE PANEL, I THINK AT
LEAST THE MAJORITY OF US ARE
AWARE OF THE FACT THAT, YOU
KNOW, I THIS NEW EMERGING
TECHNOLOGY IS WHAT IS BEING USED
TO CREATE BOTH MISINFORMATION
AND DISINFORMATION, WHICH HAS A
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR
UPCOMING ELECTIONS, WHICH IS WHY
THOSE TWO TERMS HAVE COME UP SO
MUCH IN THIS HEARING. BUT TO
KIND OF PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT
WAS JUST STATED IN THE AREA OF
PROVIDENCE, AND FOCUSING ON
AUTHENTICALLY GENERATED DATA, IT
YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN THOSE
WATERMARKS ON, ON PICTURES AND
YOU JUST KIND OF CLICK ON IT AND
IT TELLS YOU ALL OF THE DATA,
AND WE'RE WORKING AT LEAST WITH
THE BILL THAT I HAVE TO ENSURE
THAT SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES
CAN'T STRIP THAT PROVIDENCE
DATA. BUT WONDERING FROM THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE,
SINCE THERE'S A LOT OF IMAGES
THAT YOU ALL PUT OUT THERE, TO
ENSURE THE PUBLIC THAT THIS IS
ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT IS
AUTHENTIC. HAVE YOU ALL LOOKED
INTO USING ANY OF THESE KIND OF
WATERMARKS OR ANYTHING TO PUT IN
YOUR IMAGES SO THAT, PEOPLE CAN
GO AND TELL THAT THIS IS AN
AUTHENTICALLY GENERATED IMAGE
VERSUS SOMETHING THAT MAY NOT BE
AUTHENTIC. I'M GOING TO TURN IT
OVER TO OUR COMMUNICATIONS
DIRECTOR. THIS IS NEW, AND WE
ARE LOOKING INTO IT. YES. THANK
YOU. I WOULD DEFINITELY STRONGLY
RECOMMEND THAT YOU ALL. IT'S AS
WAS JUST STATED CPA, THIS IS
SOMETHING THAT IS PUBLICLY
AVAILABLE, I BELIEVE IT'S ALSO
FOR FREE, BUT IT IS GAME
CHANGING FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE
TO GO AND LOOK AND KIND OF CLICK
ON SOMETHING. IF YOU ACTUALLY
HAVE THAT WATERMARK IMAGE TO
DETERMINE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT IS AUTHENTICALLY GENERATED,
BUT DEFINITELY WANT TO THANK YOU
ALL FOR BEING HERE AND THANK THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE AND
ALL OF THE STAFF FOR ALL OF THE
WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING TO
ENSURE THAT, THE MIS AND
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS WILL
HAVE AS MINIMAL IMPACT ON OUR
ELECTIONS AS POSSIBLE HERE IN
CALIFORNIA, AND THAT YOU ARE
PROACTIVELY GETTING OUT THERE TO
HELP OUT WITH ALL 58 OF OUR
COUNTIES FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT
UPCOMING ELECTION. SO THANK YOU.
OKAY. THANK YOU, WE WOULD LIKE
TO INVITE ANY MEMBERS OF THE
PUBLIC WHO WOULD LIKE TO GIVE
PUBLIC TESTIMONY TO COME FORWARD
TO THE MICROPHONE. IS ANYBODY
HERE IN THE ROOM WANTING TO
OFFER ANY PUBLIC TESTIMONY?
OKAY. SEEING NONE, I WON'T HAVE
TO INSTITUTE TIME LIMITS ON
THIS. PUBLIC SPEAKERS, SO I WANT
TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY
WHO CAME TODAY. THANK YOU TO THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE WHO
TOOK UP THE FIRST ROW. MANY OF
YOU AND PARTICIPATED AND WATCHED
CLOSELY THE WHOLE HEARING. I
APPRECIATE THAT, AND TO OUR ZOOM
PARTICIPANTS AS WELL, WHO TOOK
TIME OUT OF THEIR DAY TO COME
AND BE HERE WITH US. I ALSO WANT
TO THANK THE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
ON THE ASSEMBLY SIDE AND THE
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR
TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY
SCHEDULES TO COME. IF YOU WERE
NOT ABLE TO TESTIFY TODAY,
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS TO
THE SENATE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS,
OR TO THE ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS. YOUR COMMENTS ARE
IMPORTANT TO US, AND WE WANT TO
INCLUDE YOUR TESTIMONY IN THE
OFFICIAL HEARING RECORDS. I'D
LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT MY
COLLEAGUES WHO WOULD LIKE TO
MAKE CLOSING STATEMENTS ARE ABLE
TO DO SO. WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO
DO THAT? YES. OKAY. ASSEMBLY
MEMBER SALIH. THANK YOU, MADAM
CHAIR. I APPRECIATE THE
OPPORTUNITY. I DO THINK THIS IS
A REALLY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION.
AND WE SHOULD LOOK AT
SPECIFICALLY WHAT CONCERNS I
RAISE, NOW, MANY OF THE THINGS
THAT WERE BROUGHT UP HERE, MADAM
CHAIR, I WOULD SAY A LOT OF WHAT
WAS TALKED ABOUT IS ALREADY
ILLEGAL. IT IS ILLEGAL TO
INTIMIDATE VOTERS. IT IS ILLEGAL
TO IMPERSONATE AN ELECTION
OFFICIAL OR A GOVERNMENT
OFFICIAL. SO MAYBE OUR
CONVERSATIONS OR LEGISLATION
NEEDS TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW,
GIVING LAW ENFORCEMENT TOOLS TO
BETTER GO AFTER THAT OR
INCREASING PENALTIES AND
PUNISHMENT FOR PEOPLE WHO DO
THOSE THINGS, I WILL SAY ONE
CONCERN I DO HAVE FROM TODAY'S
CONVERSATION IS THIS THIS WHAT
I'M HEARING AND WHAT I'M FEELING
, ESPECIALLY FROM MR. HARRIS, IS
THIS IDEA THAT THERE SHOULD BE
AN ARBITER OF TRUTH THAT EITHER
THE GOVERNMENT REQUIRES OR THE
GOVERNMENT CREATES THIS, THIS
ENTITY THAT BECOMES THE ARBITER
OF TRUTH IN OUR SOCIETY. AND I
AND I DO HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS
ABOUT THAT. THE SUPREME COURT
HAS RECOGNIZED THAT FALSE
INFORMATION OR FALSE SPEECH IS
PROTECTED SPEECH. THERE HAS TO
BE BREATHING ROOM FOR OPEN
DEBATE AND DISCOURSE THAT THAT
MAY INCLUDE FALSE IDEAS. AND SO
THE SUPREME COURT IS VERY,
RELUCTANT TO UPHOLD LAWS THAT,
APPEAR TO REGULATE WHAT'S TRUE
OR WHAT'S NOT TRUE. IT'S ONE OF
THE ISSUES I ALSO HAVE WITH
THESE MODERATE THÀNH, EMPLOYEES
THAT MR. HARRIS THINKS WE SHOULD
HAVE MORE OF IN TWITTER, WHERE
WE IT WAS KNOWN THAT THE FBI AND
THE GOVERNMENT WAS GOING TO
THESE SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES AND
TELLING THEM TO TAKE DOWN
PEOPLE'S POSTS. IT WAS
GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP. THEY WERE
CENSORING ABOUT COVID
INFORMATION. THEY WERE CENSORING
ABOUT ELECTION INFORMATION. THEY
TOOK DOWN ALL THE INFORMATION
ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN'S LAPTOP,
CLAIMING IT WAS FALSE
INFORMATION. WE NOW WE NOW KNOW
IT WASN'T. SO THIS IS THE
PROBLEM WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE
DECIDING WHAT THE PUBLIC CAN AND
CAN'T KNOW. SO I WOULD REALLY
SUGGEST THAT WE FOCUS OUR INTENT
AND, AND, AND HOW WE PROTECT THE
PUBLIC FROM ACTUAL ILLEGAL
CONDUCT, AND NOT GET INTO THE
TRUTH REGULATING BUSINESS,
THAT'S, THAT'S MY BIGGEST
TAKEAWAY FROM TODAY. AND I HOPE
THAT WE CAN MAKE IT BIPARTISAN
AND WORK TOGETHER ON IMPROVING
THIS. AND I DO THINK THE FUTURE
IS LIKE MY COLLEAGUE SAID,
AUTHENTICATING REAL INFORMATION
AND MAKING SURE PEOPLE KNOW
WHAT'S REAL. AND I DO THINK
THERE IS A HUGE APPETITE FOR
THAT. THE PUBLIC WANTS THEY WANT
AUTHENTIC INFORMATION AND THEY
WANT TO KNOW THEY COULD EASILY
DECIPHER IT FROM FAKE
INFORMATION. SO WITH THAT, I
YIELD BACK. THANK YOU. OKAY.
THANK YOU CHAIR PELLERIN. SO
AGAIN I JUST WANT TO THANK OUR
CHAIR BLAKE SPEAR FOR PUTTING ON
THIS JOINT HEARING. THANKS TO
ALL THE SPEAKERS WHO ARE HERE.
AND THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE
ELECTIONS OFFICIALS OUT THERE
WHO ARE DOING THE INCREDIBLE
WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO
CONDUCT A FAIR, SAFE, ACCURATE,
TRANSPARENT ELECTION FOR
EVERYONE. AND IN ELECTIONS THAT
ARE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE AND
ENSURING THAT THE INFORMATION
THAT'S DISSEMINATED IS CORRECT
SO PEOPLE CAN MAKE INFORMED
DECISIONS IS ABSOLUTELY
IMPERATIVE FOR, FOR OUR
DEMOCRACY. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR
BEING HERE. AND THANK YOU FOR
HOLDING THIS HEARING. OKAY. SO
WE'RE NEAR ADJOURN. Þ.
ASSEMBLYMEMBER BERMAN, GO AHEAD.
SORRY. JUST JUST LAST COMMENTS.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR EVERYBODY.
AND FOR THE STAFF OF THE
COMMITTEES FOR PUTTING THIS ON.
I DIDN'T HAVE HUNTER BIDEN'S
LAPTOP SNEAKING INTO THE
COMMITTEE HEARING, BUT I WOULD
NOTE THAT HIS TRIAL TODAY SHOWS
THE NONPARTISAN NATURE OF OUR
COURTS AND HOW MUCH WE SHOULD
RESPECT THE DECISIONS THAT OUR
COURTS AND THE JURIES OF
PEOPLE'S PEERS MAKE IN OUR
COURTS IN AMERICA. AND WHAT A
BEAUTIFUL FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENT
OF THIS COUNTRY THAT IS, BUT
ALSO JUST REALLY WANT TO NOTE
THE DANGERS THAT ARE BEING
CREATED BY THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY
THAT'S CONSTANTLY COMING OUT,
CONSTANTLY BEING IMPROVED,
CONSTANTLY BEING DEMOCRATIZED,
AND MAKING IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE
TO UTILIZE MANY TIMES FOR GOOD
PURPOSES, BUT SOMETIMES FOR BAD
PURPOSES AS WELL. AND HOW, YOU
KNOW, WE DON'T WANT SOCIAL MEDIA
COMPANIES TO NECESSARILY BE THE
DECIDERS OF WHAT'S A LIE AND
WHAT'S THE TRUTH, BUT WE CAN
CREATE REGULATIONS THAT SAY THAT
WHEN THERE'S MANIPULATED
CONTENT, WHEN THERE'S
MANIPULATED MEDIA, WHEN THEY'RE
MANIPULATED IMAGES, THAT CREATE
THE IMPRESSION OF SOMEBODY DOING
OR SOMETHING SAYING SOMETHING
THAT THEY DID NOT DO OR SAY THAT
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN
EASILY BE REGULATED AND EASILY
BE ONE OF THE MANY THINGS THAT
WE DO TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY,
HERE IN CALIFORNIA AND HOPEFULLY
HAVE THAT IMPACT OTHER STATES AS
WELL. SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT
WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE.
I THINK IT'S A RIGHTEOUS,
PATRIOTIC EFFORT. AND I'M GLAD
THAT WE'RE HAVING THOSE
CONVERSATIONS. THANKS THANK YOU.
WELL, THANK YOU EVERYBODY. AND
WITH THAT, WE ARE ADJOURNED.
GOOD JOB.