Legislation that would compel California’s judiciary to screen for deepfake evidence was introduced in Sacramento this week as lawmakers, judges, lawyers and litigants grapple with generative artificial intelligence’s impact on the justice system.

Senate Bill 970 by Sen, Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento, would direct the Judicial Council to determine a method for identifying synthetic media, which the bill defines as AI-generated audio, video and images commonly referred to as deepfakes. The judicial branch’s administrative arm would also be tasked with producing educational materials to help judges, attorneys and law enforcement officers spot AI-generated evidence.