- Tennessee passed the Ensuring Equality, Voice and Image Security Act, known as the ELVIS Act, in Nashville on Thursday
- Country singer Luke Bryan thanked lawmakers for moving to protect artists, but warned ‘it’s hard to wrap your head around what’s going on with AI’
- The ELVIS Act aims to specifically cover artists if their voice is used to sell fake musical output as well as prevent their likeness from being used without permission
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Country singer Luke Bryan praised Tennessee for leading the way in protecting artist voices from AI at an event celebrating the state’s new legislation last night.
Tennessee passed the Ensuring Equality, Voice and Image Security Act, known as the ELVIS Act, in Nashville on Thursday.
After signing the legislation, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee rubbed shoulders with country stars, including Bryan, at the classic Broadway honky-tonk Robert’s Western World.
“What a great precedent to set for the state of Tennessee,” Bryan told the crowd.
“The leaders of this show artists who are moving here following their dreams that our state is protecting what we work so hard for, and I personally want to thank all of our legislators and people who made the bill happen,” he said.
Country singer Luke Bryan praised Tennessee for leading the way in protecting artists’ voices from AI at an event in Nashville celebrating the state’s new legislation
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee rubbed shoulders with country stars including Bryan at the classic Broadway honky-tonk Robert’s Western World on Thursday
Adding: ‘It’s hard to wrap my head around what’s going on with AI, but I know the ELVIS Act will help protect our voices.’
Tennessee’s move to impose legislative protections against AI has been largely driven by concern for its world-famous music industry.
“From Beale Street to Broadway, to Bristol and beyond, Tennessee is known for our rich artistic heritage that tells the story of our great state,” Governor Lee said at Thursday’s event.
“As the technological landscape evolves with artificial intelligence, I thank the General Assembly for its partnership in creating legal protections for our best artists and songwriters,” Gov. Bill Lee said at the signing.
The ELVIS Act, passed unanimously in the state General Assembly, aims to prevent artists’ voices from being used without their permission in a song they didn’t create, for example.
Other states already have legislation preventing moves such as cloning a celebrity’s voice and manipulating it to advertise products without their permission.
However, the ELVIS Act is intended to specifically cover artists if their voice or likeness is used to sell counterfeit musical output.
“If I use a fake version of Drake’s voice, or if Taylor Swift’s voice, or of someone else’s voice, not to sell a product, but as a fake song, this bill will target that in a way that other states don’t already ” Professor Joseph Fishman, a professor of copyright and entertainment law at Vanderbilt University told WATE news.
There are currently 407 AI-related bills being considered in 40 states, nearly half of which address the issues surrounding deepfakes
Taylor Swift was hit with sexually explicit deepfake photos that went viral on X last month
Celebrities including Taylor Swift have been victims of deepfake videos, a problem that has highlighted the need for legislation.
Last year, a Delaware-based artificial intelligence company created a ‘digital twin’ of Bruce Willis, using 34,000 photos of the actor to create a digital version of the actor to be used on screen.
Despite viral reports, Willis did not sell the rights to this creation, but its existence worried many other actors and artists who wanted to protect their work.
Along with Tennessee, states across the country are also rushing to pass legislation to protect themselves against the rise of artificial intelligence.
There are currently 407 AI-related bills being considered in 40 states, nearly half of which address deepfakes, according to the software industry group BSA.
New York leads the way with 65 bills currently pending. It is closely followed by California with 29 being discussed. But others such as Alabama and Wyoming has yet to consider any new AI legislation.
Craig Albright, the BSA’s vice president of government relations, told DailyMail.com last month: ‘The explosion of generative AI tools that consumers can play with themselves has put the issues around AI front and center for millions of people, and the government on all levels are trying to get ahead of the problems as best they can.
‘States is trying to increase penalties for misuse of artificial intelligence, such as generating and distributing deep-fake porn or fake political videos.’.