Earlier this week, Wisconsin joined 20 other states that have either introduced or passed election laws requiring election campaigns to disclose when advertisements are AI-generated.
A bipartisan group of assemblymembers in the state passed two bills addressing AI use in election cycles.
The first bill, AB 664, mandates all audio and video communications to bear the label “Contains content generated by AI,” with violators risking penalties of up to $1,000 per offense.
“We want voters to know that what you see is what you get,” one of the chief architects of the bill, Democrat Rep. Clinton Anderson, said.
The second bill, AB 1068, mandates Wisconsin state agencies to conduct audits on AI tool usage to evaluate efficiency.
Additionally, agencies must report to the legislature in 2026 on state employee positions that AI could optimize, aiming to cut jobs that could be more efficient utilizing AI by 2030.
“In the end, the threat posed by AI to the American election system is no different than the use of malware and ransomware deployed by nation-states and organized crime groups against our personal and corporate networks on a daily basis,” Optiv vice president of cyber risk James Turgal said.
“The battle to mitigate these threats can and should be fought by both the United States government and the private sector.”
