And let’s not forget: This isn’t just a women’s issue — it’s a children’s safety issue. Minnesota’s bill aligns with efforts across the country, such as Kansas’ expansion of child exploitation laws to include AI-generated images and Florida’s proposed felony charges for AI-created child sexual abuse material. The terrifying reality is that these tools can fabricate child sexual imagery, often indistinguishable from real photos. We cannot allow predators to exploit legal loopholes that protect “AI-generated” content from consequences. A crime against a child should be recognized as such, whether the image was produced with a camera or an algorithm.
When people imagine the dangers of AI, they picture Hollywood’s doomsday scenarios — robot uprisings, the end of humanity — or, at worst, lazy college students taking shortcuts on their English essays. What they don’t see is the real, immediate threat: AI being weaponized to violate women and children, stripping them — both literally and figuratively — of their dignity, their privacy, and their sense of safety. This isn’t science fiction. It’s happening now, and it’s an assault on our most fundamental rights.
The U.S. Senate has already recognized the urgency of this crisis, passing a bipartisan bill introduced by Minnesota’s own Sen. Amy Klobuchar as well as Sen. Ted Cruz to criminalize nonconsensual AI-generated sexual imagery nationwide. Even First Lady Melania Trump has used her platform to push for its passage in the House.
Minnesota can and should set a precedent for state-level leadership by preventing this material from ever being created in the first place.
The time to act is now. The AI technology is already here, and it is advancing at a terrifying pace. If we do nothing, the harm will only grow. If we do nothing, we send a message that women’s bodies are fair game for digital violation, that children’s images can be manipulated without consequence and that technology is more important than human dignity.
Minnesota has a rare opportunity to be at the forefront of a necessary movement — one that prioritizes protection over punishment, prevention over reaction. We must urge lawmakers to pass this bill and take a stand for our fundamental rights to privacy, safety and respect.
