Reuters: Judge rebukes Minnesota over AI errors in 'deepfakes' lawsuit

Reuters covered HLLI’s lawsuit, Kohls v. Ellison, defending free speech. An expert witness for the state of Minnesota submitted AI-generated documents containing fake, AI-generated citations, and a Minnesota judged ruled that this expert testimony must be excluded.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Upper Midwest Law Center president Doug Seaton, said in a statement that “AG Ellison’s ‘expert’s’ opinion has proven to be all AI, and the Judge is correct not to allow him to cover his tracks by changing his flawed report.”

Franson and Kohls are also represented by the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute.

Kohls created a parody video showing the first presidential campaign ad of Harris, a Democrat, with AI-generated narration that sounded like Harris. The video was posted on X by Elon Musk, the social media site’s billionaire owner, and reposted by Franson.

Kohls is also challenging the constitutionality, opens new tab of two California laws regulating AI-generated deepfakes about elections and electoral candidates. Those laws are also being challenged by Musk’s X Corp and the Babylon Bee, a satirical website.

The case is Christopher Kohls, et al. v. Keith Ellison, et al., U.S. District Court of Minnesota, 0:24-cv-03754

For Christopher Kohls and Mary Franson: Alexandra Howell, Douglas Seaton and James Dickey, of Upper Midwest Law Center, and M. Frank Bednarz, of Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute