The Future of AI on US Politics
By Elizabeth Chen
With the growing popularity of AI, the 2024 election may be called the “AI election” as its popularity and developments are proliferating, but the effects are also worldwide.
Earlier in the year, an AI-generated robocall impersonating President Joe Biden discouraged New Hampshire voters from participating in the January Democratic primary. Not only did this call create confusion and investigations, but also anger towards Stave Kramer, the political consultant working for an opponent who was behind the call. Kramer claimed that his generated impersonation would not have affected the outcome of the January primary–however, this was not his first time generating a fake in the political field. Earlier, he had created an AI-generated robocall with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, which had reached over 300 voters, who had all responded to the familiar voice. Despite his controversial generated content, Kramer’s goal of demonstrating the danger of AI in spreading misinformation was reached, as control over the limits of AI on the election is now under investigation.
The use of AI has already taken place in other countries during elections. In Slovakia last year, a pro-Russian candidate was pitted against a pro-EU connection candidate. However, fake recordings due to AI were posted on Facebook impersonating the pro-EU candidate discussing plans to rig future elections. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the defense minister was rebranded by an AI avatar depicting him as a “chubby-cheeked” man. In India, videos of deceased politicians were generated complimenting elected officials too.
However, AI has been used in courts to fight for action on laws. Such examples include generating the voices of children who were victims of gun violence to sway lawmakers. The campaign launched the day of the mass shooting during the Super Bowl parade on The Shotline with permission from parents. However, many have deemed the use of these children’s voices as using kids as a pawn in the fight against gun violence. Not to mention concerns were raised about what AI-generated voices could do to harm others, hence posing the issue of what AI should do.
Although the use of children’s voices was used to fight for law action, similar utilization of generating recordings have also been used for harm and manipulation. The use of AI in politics is highly controversial when considering what is allowed and what is not allowed. As artificial technology continues to grow, the future of AI not only can affect the political system but also depend on laws as well.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/26/ai-deepfakes-disinformation-election
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/19/us/ai-generated-voices-victims-gun-control-cec/index.html