A pair of letters to the Guardian urges the UK to criminalize the creation or distribution of unlabeled AI-generated content, citing the rapid rise of deepfakes and their use in fraud and manipulation. One writer calls for mandatory labels, permanent watermarks, and legal penalties, arguing the UK risks falling behind moves in the EU, U.S., and China. The letter references estimates that AI-enabled fraud already costs billions and could accelerate broader cybercrime. A second letter warns that “romantic” relationships with chatbots are inherently non-consensual given the systems’ design to be compliant, pointing to concerns raised by AI researchers about possible awareness and model distress signals. Together, the letters press for stronger transparency requirements and ethical guardrails as AI-generated media proliferates.
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