Since the recent artificial intelligence summit with President Trump and industry leaders, there’s been a growing push to use the term “superintelligence,” or SI, to describe the computing models and large language models being built and used today.

As someone who defends people accused of internet and computer crimes, I spend a lot of time with technology and the words we use for it. The name “artificial intelligence” has always struck me as an odd choice. Most people don’t go looking for things that are artificial. They want things that are real and genuine. And with all respect to the people behind it, I can’t think of a less inviting brand name than “ChatGPT.” The technology is remarkable. The name, not so much.

“Superintelligence” may capture what these tools are becoming better than “artificial” does, but it has drawbacks of its own. It can sound like science fiction, and not everyone is comfortable with the idea of something “super” intelligent. In everyday conversation, the short versions, AI and SI, are simply more convenient, and they’re what people actually say.

We’ve Been Here Before

All of this reminds me of growing up when the internet first came online. Back then, it was the “World Wide Web,” spelled out in full, everywhere you looked. Then it became “the web,” then “the net.” It was “America Online,” and then just “online.”

Today, hardly anyone says they’re going to “get on the internet” or “go online.” They say “Google it,” or they name the platform they’re using: Facebook, Instagram, X. Nobody voted on that. People just settled on what worked.

The Public Will Decide

There will be a political process, too. Governments need official terms for laws and regulations, and it looks like the federal government is leaning toward “superintelligence,” while there are indications that some states, California among them, are sticking with “artificial intelligence.” Like most things today, it’s political. But official terminology and everyday language don’t always match.

I suspect the same thing will happen here. Whether we end up saying artificial intelligence, superintelligence, AI, SI, or simply the name of whatever platform someone is using, the public will decide what sticks. It usually does.

At the end of the day, we don’t even know what it will be. My guess is it ends up being something different from all of these, because this technology is going to be everywhere, in everything. And if history is any guide, the fewer syllables, the better.

What won’t change, whatever we call it, is that the law looks at what people actually do, and the evidence has to prove it. If you’re curious how that plays out, see our posts on how police get AI chats, images, and account records and AI image generators and the law.

Questions? Let’s Talk.

If you would like to speak with an experienced criminal defense lawyer about an investigation or charge involving AI or other technology, or you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact Attorney Ron Frey of The Frey Law Firm, LLC, wherever you are. Your consultation is free and confidential. You can talk with us by phone, by video, or at our Tampa office, and when the situation calls for it, we can come to you.

Call or text (813) 775-2276. Rapid response, 24/7.

This post is for general information only. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Laws involving artificial intelligence and digital evidence are changing quickly and vary from state to state, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case and on how courts interpret them. Please don’t rely on this post, or on any other information online, to make decisions about your situation. Talk with a lawyer.

Questions about AI images come from two directions. Some people are worried about something they prompted, saved, or shared. Others have just found out that someone made images of them. Both are hard conversations, and both start with understanding where you stand. (For an overview of the computer and internet crime cases Attorney Ron Frey handles, see our internet crimes page.)

“Whether you made the image or you’re the one in it, the first conversation should be with a lawyer, not with the internet.”

Attorney Ron Frey

The Main Concern

AI makes it easy to create images that look real. The law doesn’t focus on how easy it was. It focuses on what the image shows and who it shows. The issues that tend to matter include:

• Is the image sexual or explicit?
• Does it involve, or appear to involve, a minor?
• Can a real person be identified in it, and did that person agree?
• Was it kept private, sent to someone, or posted?
• Was it used to threaten, harass, or pressure anyone?

“It was only AI” is not the end of the analysis. Some laws apply to images whether or not a camera was ever involved.

Where Federal and State Law Come In

Federal law can apply anywhere in the country, including federal laws on sexual images of minors and the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which addresses publishing intimate images without consent, including AI-made “digital forgeries.” State law can apply too. Florida, for example, has laws aimed at this kind of conduct, including laws on generated and altered sexual images involving minors (sections 827.072 and 827.071, Florida Statutes) and a law on sexually explicit altered images of identifiable people, the kind most people call deepfakes (section 836.13, which uses the term “altered sexual depiction”). (For more on the Florida side, see our Florida page on AI-related crimes.)

Several of these laws are new or have changed recently, and courts are still working out how they apply to AI. What a statute means in a particular case depends on the facts, the state, the dates involved, and how courts interpret it. This summary isn’t complete or current, and it isn’t a substitute for talking with a lawyer. Allegations involving sexual images can also overlap with other charges. (See our pages on internet sex crimes and on charges involving sexual images of minors.)

If You’re Worried About Something You Made

The worry can take many forms: a prompt typed out of curiosity, an image made as a joke, something passed around a group chat, or a notice that an account was suspended. Every situation is different, and the questions that matter are fact-specific:

• What does the image actually show?
• Can a real person be identified?
• Did anything leave your device?
• Has a platform, or anyone else, reported it?

These aren’t questions to sort out alone, with a search engine, or with a chatbot. What you type into an AI tool about your situation can itself become a record. (See Your AI Prompts Can Be Evidence on our Florida site, FreyLegal.com.) If investigators are already involved, our post on how police get AI chats, images, and account records explains the general process.

If Someone Made AI Images of You

Finding out that someone created or shared a fake sexual image of you can be frightening and humiliating. There may be options. Federal law includes a process for asking online platforms to take these images down. State law may add more: Florida, for example, has its own removal process and allows people depicted in certain altered sexual images to bring a civil lawsuit. Reporting to law enforcement may also be an option.

Which path makes sense depends on who made the image, where it has been shared, and what you want to happen next. A confidential conversation with a lawyer can help you sort through it.

Attorney Ron Frey’s Take

The same tool can produce two very different situations, and in both of them, the details matter. For someone accused, the questions include how the image was made, by whom, on what device, and what the evidence actually shows. For someone depicted, they include what can be removed, what can be pursued, and how to protect yourself going forward. AI-image matters can also involve the same digital evidence issues that come up in other computer and internet crime cases.

“With AI images, every case turns on its facts, and the law keeps changing. That’s a conversation for a lawyer, not a search engine.”

Attorney Ron Frey

Questions to Bring to a Lawyer

People with AI-image concerns often ask questions like these:

• Is what I made, or what I’m accused of making, actually a crime where I live?
• Does it matter that no real photo was used?
• What if the image was never shared?
• Someone made images of me. What can I do?
• Could this become a federal case?

The honest answer to each depends on the facts and the law that applies. Talk it through with a lawyer before relying on anything you read online, including this post.

Questions About an AI Image? Let’s Talk.

Whether you’re worried about an image you made or you’ve discovered images of yourself, Attorney Ron Frey is glad to talk with you confidentially, wherever you are. Your consultation is free. You can talk with us by phone, by video, or at our Tampa office, and when the situation calls for it, we can come to you.

Call or text (813) 775-2276. Rapid response, 24/7.

This post is for general information only. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Laws involving artificial intelligence are changing quickly and vary from state to state, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case and on how courts interpret them. Please don’t rely on this post, or on any other information online, to make decisions about your situation. Talk with a lawyer.

“AI crimes” covers a lot of ground: fraud and impersonation, sexual deepfakes, AI-generated sexual images involving minors, threats, and more. However the AI was used, the evidence trail tends to look familiar: an account, a device, and records kept by the company that runs the tool. (For an overview of the computer and internet crime investigations Attorney Ron Frey handles, see our internet crimes page.)

This post walks through, in general terms, where AI records come from and how investigators reach them, whether the investigation is local, state, or federal. It isn’t a substitute for talking with a lawyer about your own situation.

“Every AI tool leaves a trail: an account, a device, a timestamp. The question usually isn’t whether the records exist. It’s what they actually prove.”

Attorney Ron Frey

The Provider Side

AI companies, like email providers and social media platforms, keep records about their users. Depending on the company and the account, those records can include sign-up details, payment information, login times, and the content of conversations and generated images.

Federal law sets out how the government can get those records. Depending on what investigators want, the process can range from a subpoena for basic account information, to a court order for other records, to a search warrant for the contents of communications. Investigators can also ask a provider to preserve records while they obtain that process. How much a company keeps, and for how long, depends on its policies, the account settings, and sometimes court orders.

As AI agents start sending messages, making purchases, and taking other actions on a user’s behalf, those actions leave logs too.

The Device Side

With a search warrant, investigators can seize phones, computers, tablets, and storage drives. Forensic examiners usually make a complete copy of each device, often called a forensic image, and search that copy. Depending on what the warrant allows, they may look for:

• chatbot app data and browser history,
• images saved, downloaded, or generated on the device,
• screenshots and exported files, and
• copies synced from cloud accounts.

These examinations can take months. Many people have their devices taken and then hear nothing for a long time. That quiet period doesn’t necessarily mean the investigation is over. (For more on device searches, see What Should You Do if the Police or FBI Search Your Home? and Should I Provide My Password to the Police or FBI?.)

How These Investigations Often Start

AI-related investigations don’t always begin with a knock on the door. Common starting points include:

• Platform reports. When a technology company becomes aware of certain kinds of suspected illegal content involving minors, federal law requires it to make a report, and those reports can reach law enforcement.
• Complaints from people. Someone who believes they were depicted in an AI image, impersonated, or defrauded may go to the police.
• Financial referrals. Banks and payment companies flag suspected fraud, and those referrals can lead investigators to the accounts and tools involved.
• Other investigations. Records gathered while investigating one person can point to another.

What Courts Have Seen So Far

AI records are already showing up in criminal cases. In recent cases, agents carrying out search warrants have collected documents people created with AI tools, and courts have declined to treat those materials as privileged. In others, prosecutors have pointed to chatbot prompts and AI-generated images as part of the story they tell. Those are allegations, and like any evidence, they have to be tested. (We cover these points in Your AI Prompts Can Be Evidence and AI Is Not Your Lawyer on our Florida site, FreyLegal.com.)

The law in this area is new and still changing. Which rules apply depends on the facts, the type of record, the state involved, whether the case is in state or federal court, and how courts interpret the law. Nothing here is a complete or current statement of it.

Attorney Ron Frey’s Take

Records can be powerful evidence, but they rarely tell the whole story on their own. When Attorney Ron Frey looks at an AI-related case, the questions include:

• Who actually used the account or the device? Accounts get shared, and devices get borrowed.
• Was the warrant valid, and did investigators stay within it?
• Is what was preserved and turned over complete?
• What does the whole conversation or the full record say, not just a few lines pulled out of it?

“Records can say what was typed. They can’t always say who typed it, or why. That gap is often where a defense lives.”

Attorney Ron Frey

Questions Worth Asking a Lawyer

People who are worried about their accounts or devices often ask questions like these:

• Can investigators get my AI chat history without my knowing?
• Police took my phone or computer but didn’t arrest me. What happens now?
• Will this be handled in state court or federal court?
• Should I talk with the detective or agent who contacted me?

The honest answer to each depends on the facts and the law that applies, and these aren’t questions for a search engine or a chatbot.

“If you’re wondering what investigators can see, don’t ask a chatbot or a search engine. Call a lawyer and talk it through privately.”

Attorney Ron Frey

Wondering What’s in Your Records? Let’s Talk.

If you have questions about an investigation, a device search, or AI records that could come up in a case, call a lawyer. Attorney Ron Frey is glad to talk it through with you confidentially, wherever you are. Your consultation is free. You can talk with us by phone, by video, or at our Tampa office, and when the situation calls for it, we can come to you.

Call or text (813) 775-2276. Rapid response, 24/7.

This post is for general information only. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Laws involving artificial intelligence and digital evidence are changing quickly and vary from state to state, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case and on how courts interpret them. Please don’t rely on this post, or on any other information online, to make decisions about your situation. Talk with a lawyer.