Tennessee Governor Introduces ‘ELVIS Act’ for AI Protection

Tennessee is leading the charge against AI deep fakes and audio cloning, announcing the ELVIS Act on Wednesday, a measure that has already garnered support.

What is it? Dubbed the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, the new legislation updates Tennessee’s existing Protection of Personal Rights law. It aims to "preserve individual voice, image and likeness against irresponsible and unethical artificial intelligence (AI).”

Why it matters: Stemming from concerns over the misuse of “creators’ voice, image and likeness rights,” this is the first time the word “voice” has been specifically singled out as a protected part of copyrighted compositions. It makes Tennessee the first state to combat AI deep fakes, and was introduced by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee at RCA Studio A.

What they're saying: “From Beale Street to Broadway and beyond, Tennessee is known for our rich artistic heritage that tells the story of our great state," Governor Lee said. "As the technology landscape evolves with artificial intelligence, we’re proud to lead the nation in proposing legal protection for our best-in-class artists and songwriters.”

Christian musician Michael W. Smith added, “As a working artist and songwriter, I know how vital it is to build a creative environment that protects the work and individuality of future generations of dreamers. While I am grateful for existing tools that have helped me craft both my music and my message, even more personal gifts and attributes have a right to be protected from digital manipulations.”

“The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) resulted in fake recordings that are not authorized by the artist and is wrong, period,” shared NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison. … “This is an important step in what will be an ongoing challenge to regulate generative AI music creations.”