West DFW News

The Texas Criminal Justice Committee has advanced a series of bills aimed at addressing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake images for exploiting children. These bills are designed to combat the rise of "deepfakes," AI-generated images depicting individuals in scenarios they never experienced, which are increasingly used to produce child sex abuse material or non-consensual adult sexual images. The proposed legislation would allow law enforcement to take action if a reasonable person determines that a fake image depicts a child, even without an actual victim.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials have testified about the limitations of current laws, which require a real victim for investigations. The new bills aim to change this by providing both criminal and civil remedies for those affected by non-consensual explicit images. Additionally, one bill seeks to eliminate the educational defense for distributing harmful material to minors.

In another legislative development, the Texas Senate has passed SB 5, aiming to establish the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT). This institute would focus on all brain diseases, not just dementia, and could be endowed with $3 billion from surplus funds if approved by voters. Modeled after the successful Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), DPRIT aspires to become a leading research center in America.

Furthermore, the Texas Senate has voted in favor of creating the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. This initiative allows state investment diversification into cryptocurrency holdings under supervision by the comptroller’s office. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick identified this as a priority for the legislative session.

Additional legislation includes efforts to return posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms and discussions on measures against antisemitism on college campuses. Coach Joe Kennedy's support was noted for these educational initiatives following his legal battle over school prayer rights.

This week also saw discussions with business leaders about preparing Texas for increased electricity demand due to new data centers across the state.