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by Alexa Ashwell
WBFF (Baltimore County, MD) — Calls are emerging for new laws and better technology as for the first time the Baltimore County State’s Attorney prepares to prosecute a case involving the alleged misuse and abuse of artificial intelligence.
“In fact it's one of the first we were able to find around the country,” said Scott Shellenberger, Baltimore County State’s Attorney. “As we dug into this a little bit more it seemed very clear to me we may need to make our way down to Annapolis and the Legislator next year to make some adaptations to bring the law up to the date with the technology that was being used.”
Shellenberger made those comments yesterday when Baltimore County Police announced charges against Dazhon Darien, the Pikesville High School’s Athletic Director.
Investigators say Darien used AI to create a fake, racist audio recording of Pikeville High School’s Principal, resulting in a federal investigation and the temporary removal of the Principal.
“In this particular case we obviously had some statutes that were right on point but we do in fact need to take a look at some others. For instance, the charge of disrupting school activities only carries a six-month sentence. Certainly something we need to take a look at. But we also need to take a broader look at how this technology can be used and abused to harm other people,” said Shellenberger.
House Delegate Kathy Szeliga, who represents Baltimore County, says there are currently no laws in the books centered on AI and agrees this should change.
“To be specific to AI there isn’t a law because it's such a new technology,” said Szeliga. “There are laws with impersonation and fraudulently misrepresenting yourself or another but this certainly is so harmful and you look at what people could do so damaging using AI to impersonate other people.”
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Szeliga added,
“I stand with Scott Shellenberger. The laws certainly need to be updated. We’ve seen that with child pornography being streamed. Last year the Legislature had to make a new law that said streaming child pornography was illegal. The previous law had said possessing child pornography was a crime, but in streaming pornography you don't possess it. As technology is changing the lives of everyone we are having to go back and update the laws to hold wrongdoers responsible for their harmful behaviors.”
Szeliga added as technology advances, so should the tools to protect the public.
During Thursday’s press conference, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski also voiced investments must be made.
“It's clear that we’re entering a new, deeply concerning frontier. As we continue to embrace emerging technology and its potential for innovation and social good we must also remain vigilant against those who will abuse it with malicious intent,” said Olszewski. “We must also invest in new technology that identifies and protects against these emerging threats and will likely require us to examine laws at both the state and federal levels to ensure that this new technology and those still yet to come cannot be used in ways that harm individuals and our communities.”
“Police will have to update and modernize to keep up with criminals,” said Szeliga. “The government is going to have to step up and invest in tools to protect the public from crimes like this that could potentially ruin someone’s life.”
Session ended earlier this month.
As for Darien, according to court records he posted bond and is due in court June 11.