Committee hears bill to ban distribution of AI-generated obscene images of children and add sentencing enhancements

Sponsor Representative Brad Thomas presented House Bill 171 as a two-part proposal: (1) create a crime prohibiting distribution of computer-generated obscene material depicting children and (2) add enhanced sentencing when an artificial intelligence system is used in certain offenses. "They scrape images of real children, right off Facebook," Thomas said while describing how datasets can be trained to produce realistic child images.

Thomas told the House Judiciary Committee the measure amends Title 17 to add enhanced penalties for crimes committed using artificial intelligence, and it defines "child" in the new text as a person under 16 for the purposes of the computer-generated offense. He said the intent is to close a perceived loophole in current law that could allow people to…