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Samuel Klein

Samuel Klein counsels clients on mitigating reputational risks, responding to government investigations, and navigating the regulatory and political environment for strategic public engagement. As a member of Covington’s Election and Political Law Practice Group, Sam helps clients facing Congressional investigations and advises on election administration, ethics, and campaign finance laws. Working with the firm’s Public Policy Practice Group, he advises on federal and state initiatives for clients in technology, finance, and other regulated industries. He maintains an active pro bono practice. Before joining Covington, Sam served as a law clerk at the Federal Election Commission, interned for two committee leaders in Congress, and worked as a public affairs consultant.

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A New Orleans magician recently made headlines for using artificial intelligence (AI) to  emulate President Biden’s voice without his consent in a misleading robocall to New Hampshire voters. This was not a magic trick, but rather a demonstration of the risks AI-generated “deepfakes” pose to election integrity.  As rapidly evolving AI capabilities collide with the ongoing 2024 elections, federal and state policymakers increasingly are taking steps to protect the public from the threat of deceptive AI-generated political content.

Media generated by AI to imitate an individual’s voice or likeness present significant challenges for regulators.  As deepfakes increasingly become indistinguishable from authentic content, members of Congress, federal regulatory agencies, and third-party stakeholders all have called for action to mitigate the threats deepfakes can pose for elections.  

Continue Reading As States Lead Efforts to Address Deepfakes in Political Ads, Federal Lawmakers Seek Nationwide Policies

On February 20, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) announced a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) task force in the House of Representatives, with the goal of developing principles and policies to promote U.S. leadership and security with respect to AI.  Rep. Jay Olbernolte (R-CA) will chair the task force, joined by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) as co-chair.  Several other senior members of the California delegation, including Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), will participate in the effort as well.

Continue Reading New Bipartisan House Task Force May Signal Legislative Momentum on Artificial Intelligence

Recently, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced new legislation to address transparency and accountability for artificial intelligence (AI) systems, including those deployed for certain “critical impact” use cases. While many other targeted, bipartisan AI bills have been introduced in both chambers of Congress, this bill appears to be one of the first to propose specific legislative text for broadly regulating AI testing and use across industries.

Continue Reading Bipartisan group of Senators introduce new AI transparency legislation