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   XPost: sac.politics, talk.politics.guns   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Jan 13 (Reuters) - Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison cannot rely on   
   a misinformation expert whose court filing included made-up citations   
   generated by artificial intelligence, a federal judge ruled in a case   
   involving a "deepfake" parody of Vice President Kamala Harris.   
      
   The Friday decision, opens new tab from U.S. District Judge Laura   
   Provinzino in Minnesota federal court stems from an expert declaration   
   Ellison's office submitted, opens new tab in November. Ellison is   
   defending a Minnesota law that bans people from using deepfakes – videos,   
   pictures or audio clips made with AI to look real – to influence an   
   election.   
      
   But one of Minnesota's experts in the case, Jeff Hancock, a misinformation   
   specialist and a Stanford University communication professor, used fake   
   article citations generated by AI to support the state's arguments, the   
   court found.   
      
   Hancock told the judge, opens new tab he used ChatGPT-4o while drafting   
   his declaration, which likely "hallucinated" two citations he made in his   
   filing, and apologized for the oversight.   
      
   Although Provinzino said she does not believe Hancock intentionally cited   
   fake sources generated by AI, it "shatters his credibility with this   
   court," she wrote on Friday.   
      
   The judge noted the "irony" that Hancock, "a credentialed expert on the   
   dangers of AI and misinformation, has fallen victim to the siren call of   
   relying too heavily on AI — in a case that revolves around the dangers of   
   AI, no less."   
      
   Provinzino said she would exclude Hancock's expert testimony in deciding   
   whether to grant a preliminary injunction blocking the Minnesota deepfakes   
   law, and prohibited Ellison from filing amended testimony from Hancock.   
   Provinzino declined to block the law in a separate Friday order.   
      
   Hancock and Ellison's office did not immediately respond to requests for   
   comment.   
      
   The law, which was enacted in 2023, is being challenged, opens new tab as   
   unconstitutional by Minnesota Republican state lawmaker Mary Franson and   
   Christopher Kohls, a political satirist who operates under the screenname   
   "Mr Reagan."   
      
   A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Upper Midwest Law Center president Doug   
   Seaton, said in a statement that "AG Ellison’s ‘expert’s’ opinion has   
   proven to be all AI, and the Judge is correct not to allow him to cover   
   his tracks by changing his flawed report."   
      
   Franson and Kohls are also represented by the Hamilton Lincoln Law   
   Institute.   
      
   Kohls created a parody video showing the first presidential campaign ad of   
   Harris, a Democrat, with AI-generated narration that sounded like Harris.   
      
   The video was posted on X by Elon Musk, the social media site's   
   billionaire owner, and reposted by Franson.   
      
   Kohls is also challenging the constitutionality, opens new tab of two   
   California laws regulating AI-generated deepfakes about elections and   
   electoral candidates. Those laws are also being challenged by Musk's X   
   Corp and the Babylon Bee, a satirical website.   
      
   The case is Christopher Kohls, et al. v. Keith Ellison, et al., U.S.   
   District Court of Minnesota, 0:24-cv-03754   
      
   For Christopher Kohls and Mary Franson: Alexandra Howell, Douglas Seaton   
   and James Dickey, of Upper Midwest Law Center, and M. Frank Bednarz, of   
   Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute   
      
   For Keith Ellison: Allen Barr, Angela Behrens, Elizabeth Kramer and Peter   
   Farrell, of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office   
      
   For Chad Larson: Kristin Nierengarten and Zachary Cronen, of Rupp,   
   Anderson, Squires & Waldspurger   
      
   https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/judge-rebukes-minnesota-over-ai-   
   errors-deepfakes-lawsuit-2025-01-13/   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)