Last month, in New Hampshire, the Democratic opponent in Joe Biden’s primary, Dean Phillips, lost by a large majority to the favorite.
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AI debuts in 2024 elections with no simple solution
An AI chatbot was implemented by the super PAC supporting Dean Phillips in the run-up to the New Hampshire vote. It was used to respond to constituent demands. As the attempt violated their policies, OpenAI quickly restricted it. Thus easily removing Phillips’ AI counterpart.
Another AI incident that remained mysterious for a few weeks was Biden’s Deepfaked robocalls asking voters not to show up to the polls to suppress the vote. On Tuesday, the Texas-based company, suspected of transmitting the calls over its telephone network, received a cease and desist letter from the FCC.
The two AI incidents highlighted the real threat to political campaigns. AI outlaws are determined to sow chaos and misinformation.
No laws have been passed or implemented by Congress to regulate the use of AI in elections. FCC Chairman Sean Cooksey said the commission would begin work on implementing AI rules by early summer.
However, what regulations would be allowed under the First Amendment and whether the FEC has authority over AI in politics are still to be determined.
A few states, however, have enacted laws governing AI-generated content used for campaigns, while Washington lawmakers have admitted they are lagging behind, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who sponsored a bipartisan measure to ban it. the use of AI-generated deepfakes in elections.
Speaking to a Microsoft-sponsored panel on Tuesday, she said, “The problem is not going to go away on its own.” She added: “We cannot stand idly by while AI continues to advance without any rules of conduct. »
The use of deepfakes in political advertising was roundly condemned by the board of directors of the American Association of Political Consultants last year. So the technology now appearing in the countryside was a complete surprise.
Democratic candidate Peter Dixon of California’s 16th Congressional District also used AI to illustrate his life story in his campaign launch video, while expressing that his “light-hearted” video will help establish of “ethical standards” for AI in campaigns.
According to Republican digital strategist Eric Wilson, people are “very reluctant” to use AI for creative production due to unresolved ethics. He added: “The last thing a campaign wants to do is create an ad, and it gets attention for all the wrong reasons. »
Ads using AI will become more prevalent as campaign cycles continue. Democratic strategist Maya Hutchinson, who works for a startup that uses AI to create ads, said the technology can help personalize messages to target diverse groups “in a very careful and thoughtful way.”
Laws, regulations, and industry conventions have failed to keep pace with rapid advances in AI technology. The recent elections have enough evidence of the dangers of AI. AI-generated content is freely accessible across platforms with only a few restrictions.
While these advances are undoubtedly fascinating, they come with many risks. So, on Tuesday, Meta announced that it would begin identifying and tagging photos on Facebook, Instagram and discussion threads created using AI.
In November, Microsoft made a series of commitments, including supporting political campaigns and watermarking content. Google also announced that it would use AI to find and remove fake AI-produced content from its platforms.
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