New York is setting new rules for how artificial intelligence can be used in advertising and entertainment, aiming to protect consumers and performers as digital technology spreads across the industry.
State lawmakers have approved two new laws that require transparency when AI-generated performers appear in advertisements and restrict the commercial use of a person’s name or likeness after death without consent.
One of the measures requires anyone who produces or creates an advertisement to clearly disclose when it includes AI-generated synthetic performers. Those performers are digitally created images or videos designed to look like real people.
State officials said the lack of disclosure has made it harder for consumers to tell what is real and what is artificially generated, especially as AI tools become more accessible and more widely used across social media and digital advertising.
Under the new law, viewers must be informed when an ad uses a synthetic performer instead of a real person.
A second law strengthens protections around a person’s name, image, or likeness after death. It requires consent from an individual’s heirs or executor before that likeness can be used for commercial purposes.
Lawmakers said the change responds to growing concerns about deepfakes and unauthorized digital recreations of deceased individuals, particularly in film, television, and advertising.
Supporters said the measures protect both consumers and workers in New York’s film and television industry, which remains a major part of the state’s economy.
Labor groups and lawmakers said transparency is critical as AI continues to reshape creative work. They argued that lower production costs should not come at the expense of misleading the public or replacing human performers without disclosure.
Industry advocates also said the laws reinforce long-standing publicity rights while updating them for modern technology.
With the legislation now signed, New York becomes the first state in the nation to require disclosure of AI-generated performers in advertising, setting a model other states may soon follow.
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