Analyzing Harms from AI-Generated Images and Safeguarding Online Authenticity

The democratization of image-generating artificial intelligence (AI) tools without regulatory guardrails has amplified preexisting harms on the internet. Such harms from these tools have yet to be effectively addressed from a regulatory standpoint because of a nexus of policy challenges, such as data privacy, lack of social media regulation, ethics issues, and the rapid evolution of this technology.

In this paper, the author highlights the challenges of tackling the myriad safety harms that arise from AI-generated images and provides considerations for U.S. policy to safeguard the authenticity of images on the internet in terms of this specific issue. Though the harms of AI-generated content cannot be erased, they can be mitigated through interoperable information disclosures on images. The most effective policy solutions will focus on building public understanding related to AI-generated images and transparency about content authenticity through collaboration between government and industry, as well as government-led accountability mechanisms to hold technology companies accountable.