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Artificial intelligence and elections

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As artificial intelligence (AI) has become more mainstream, there is growing concern about how this will influence elections. Potential targets of AI include election processes, election offices, election officials and election vendors.[1]

Tactics

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Generative AI capabilities allow creation of misleading content. Examples of this include text-to-video, deepfake videos, text-to-image, AI-altered image, text-to-speech, voice cloning, and text-to-text. In the context of an election, a deepfake video of a candidate may propagate information that the candidate does not endorse.[2] Chatbots could spread misinformation related to election locations, times or voting methods. In contrast to malicious actors in the past, these techniques require little technical skill and can spread rapidly.[3]

Usage by country

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South Korea

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2022 Elections

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A committee for one presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol released an AI avatar 'Al Yoon Seok-yeol' that would campaign in places the candidate could not go. The other presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung introduced a chatbot that provided information about the candidate's pledges.[4]

2024 Elections

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Deepfakes were used to spread misinformation before South Korea's parliamentary elections with one source reporting 129 deepfake violations of election laws within a two week period.[5] Seoul hosted the 2024 Summit for Democracy, a virtual gathering of world leaders initiated by US President Joe Biden in 2021.[6] The focus of the summit was on digital threats to democracy including artificial intelligence and deepfakes.[7]

India

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2024 elections

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In the 2024 Indian general election, politicians used deepfakes in their campaign materials. These deepfakes included politicians who had died prior to the election. Mathuvel Karunanidhi's party posted[8][9] a video[10] with his likeness even though he had died 2018.[11] The All-India Anna Dravidian Progressive Federation party posted an audio clip of Jayaram Jayalalithaa even though she had died in 2016.[12] The Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU)[13] is an opensource platform created in March 2024 for the public to share misleading content and assess if it had been AI-generated.

AI was also used to translate political speeches in real time.[8] This translating ability was widely used to reach more voters.[8][9]

Argentina

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2023 elections

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During the 2023 Argentine primary elections, Javier Milei's team distributed AI generated images including a fabricated image of his rival Sergio Massa and drew 3 million views.[14] The team also created an unofficial Instagram account entitled "AI for the Homeland."[14] Sergio Massa's team also distributed AI generated images and videos.[15] [16]

United Kingdom

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2024 elections

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Steve Endacott created "AI Steve," an AI avatar as the face of his campaign for member of parliament.[17] The Centre for Emerging Technology and Security provided a report on the threat of AI to the 2024 UK general elections. The report findings said that AI impact was limited but may damage the democratic system.[18]

United States

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2024 elections

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Regulation of AI with regard to elections was unlikely to see a resolution for most of the 2024 United States general election season.[19][20] The campaign for the 2024 Republican nominee,[21] Donald Trump, has used deepfake videos of political opponents in campaign ads and fake images showing Trump with black supporters.[19][22] In 2023, while he was still running for re-election, the presidential campaign of Joe Biden prepared a task force to respond to AI images and videos.[23]

A Democratic consultant working for Dean Phillips also admitted to using AI to generate a robocall which used Joe Biden's voice to discourage voter participation.[24]

Generative AI increased the efficiency with which political candidates were able to raise money by analyzing donor data and identifying possible donors and target audiences[25][26].

Regulation

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By governments

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Philippines

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The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) issued guidelines on the usage of AI, to be implemented starting from the 2025 Philippine general election including the parallel Bangsamoro Parliament election. It mandates candidate to disclose usage of AI in their campaign materials and prohibits the usage of the technology to spread misinformation against their rivals.[27] This is the first time the COMELEC has release guidelines on campaigning through social media.[28]

United States

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US states have attempted regulation of AI use in elections and campaigns with varying degrees of success.[29] The National Conference of State Legislatures has compiled a list of legislation regarding AI use by state as of 2024, some carrying both civil and criminal penalties.[30] Oregon Senate Bill 1571[31][32][33] requires that campaign communications in Oregon disclose the use of AI. California has enacted legislation that makes using deepfakes to discredit political opponents illegal within sixty days of an election.[34][35]

Self-regulation by private firms

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Midjourney, an AI image-generator, has started blocking users from creating fake images of the 2024 US Presidential candidates.[36] Research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that image generators such as Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, DreamStudio, and Microsoft's Image Creator create images that constitute election disinformation in 41% of the test text prompts they tried.[36] OpenAI implemented policies to counter election misinformation such as adding digital credentials to image origin and a classifier to detect if images were AI generated[37].

See Also

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References

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  1. ^ Risk in Focus: Generative A.I. and the 2024 Election Cycle (PDF) (Report). Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. January 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  2. ^ McMillan, Robert; Corse, Alexa; Volz, Dustin (February 15, 2024). "New Era of AI Deepfakes Complicates 2024 Elections". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Swenson, Ali; Chan, Kelvin (March 14, 2024). "Election disinformation takes a big leap with AI being used to deceive worldwide". Associated Press. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  4. ^ ""내가 윤석열로 보이니"… 'AI 정치인' 혁신인가, 재앙인가". 한국일보 (in Korean). December 11, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Herald, Korea (February 22, 2024). "[Editorial] Deepfake risks in election". The Korea Herald. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  6. ^ "The 3rd Summit for Democracy | International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  7. ^ Smith, Josh (March 17, 2024). Doyle, Gerry (ed.). "Explainer: Why is South Korea hosting a 'Summit for Democracy'?". Reuters. Retrieved November 8, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ a b c "India's latest election embraced AI technology. Here are some ways it was used constructively". PBS News. June 12, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Shukla, Vandinika (May 24, 2024). "The Era of AI-Generated Election Campaigning is Underway in India | TechPolicy.Press". Tech Policy Press. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Sun News (January 23, 2024). தமிழ்நாடு முதலமைச்சர் மு.க.ஸ்டாலின் சாதனைகளை பட்டியலிட்டு வாழ்த்திய AI-ஆல் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட கலைஞர்!. Retrieved October 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "Muthuvel Karunanidhi | Indian Politician, Tamil Nadu, & DMK Leader | Britannica". www.britannica.com. September 20, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  12. ^ "Jayalalitha: The 'goddess' of Tamil Nadu politics". BBC News. December 5, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  13. ^ "Deepfakes Analysis Unit - A Misinformation Combat Alliance Initiative". dau.mcaindia.in. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Feliba, David. "How AI shaped Milei's path to Argentina presidency | Context". www.context.news. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  15. ^ Nicas, Jack; Herrera, Lucia Cholakian (November 16, 2023). "Is Argentina the First A.I. Election?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  16. ^ AI used against candidates in this country's election | CNN. November 17, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2024 – via www.cnn.com.
  17. ^ M, Muvija; Mcdill, Stuart (June 20, 2024). "No hallucination: AI candidate on the ballot for UK election". Reuters. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  18. ^ Stockwell, Sam; Hughes, Megan; Swatton, Phil; Bishop, Katie (May 28, 2024). "AI-Enabled Influence Operations: The Threat to the UK General Election". Centre for Emerging Technology and Security. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Mansfield, Erin (March 11, 2024). "AI deepfakes are part of the 2024 election. Will the federal government regulate them?". USA Today. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  20. ^ Fung, Brian (February 14, 2024). "AI could disrupt the election. Congress is running out of time to respond". CNN Business. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  21. ^ Colvin, Jill (March 12, 2024). "Trump wins delegates needed to become GOP's presumptive nominee for third straight election". Associated Press. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Brown, Matt; Klepper, David (March 8, 2024). "Fake images made to show Trump with Black supporters highlight concerns around AI and elections". Associated Press. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  23. ^ O'Sullivan, Donie; Fung, Brian (November 30, 2023). "First on CNN: Biden campaign prepares legal fight against election deepfakes". CNN. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  24. ^ Verma, Pranshu; Kornfield, Meryl (March 2, 2024). "Democratic operative admits to commissioning Biden AI robocall in New Hampshire". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  25. ^ Curi, Maria (January 30, 2024). "Exclusive: AI turbocharges campaign fundraising". Axios. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  26. ^ Sahota, Neil. "The AI Factor In Political Campaigns: Revolutionizing Modern Politics". Forbes. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  27. ^ Chi, Cristina (September 19, 2024). "Comelec releases guidelines on AI use in 2025 polls". The Philippine Star. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  28. ^ Sampang, Dianne (September 19, 2024). "No absolute ban of AI from poll campaign – Comelec". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  29. ^ "Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Elections and Campaigns". www.ncsl.org. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  30. ^ "National Council of State Legislatures". Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Elections and Campaigns. October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  31. ^ "Oregon Law to Regulate AI in Political Campaigns". www.northbendoregon.us. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  32. ^ "Oregon State Legislature 2024 Regular Session" (PDF). Senate Bill 1571. March 6, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  33. ^ "Oregon lawmakers consider regulating use of AI in campaign ads". opb. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  34. ^ "Bill Text - AB-730 Elections: deceptive audio or visual media". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  35. ^ "California laws seek to crack down on deepfakes in politics and porn". CNET. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  36. ^ a b O'Brien, Matt (March 13, 2024). "AI image-generator Midjourney blocks images of Biden and Trump as election looms". Associated Press. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  37. ^ Fischer, Sara (January 15, 2024). "OpenAI unveils plans for tackling abuse ahead of 2024 elections". Axios. Retrieved November 10, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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