dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Social Links
  • zedreviews.com
  • citi.io
  • aster.cloud
  • liwaiwai.com
  • guzz.co.uk
  • atinatin.com
0 Likes
0 Followers
0 Subscribers
dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • People
  • Technology

AI vs. elections: 4 essential reads about the threat of high-tech deception in politics

  • March 18, 2024
Like it or not, AI is already playing a role in the 2024 presidential election. kirstypargeter/iStock via Getty Images
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Like it or not, AI is already playing a role in the 2024 presidential election.
kirstypargeter/iStock via Getty Images

Eric Smalley, The Conversation

It’s official. Joe Biden and Donald Trump have secured the necessary delegates to be their parties’ nominees for president in the 2024 election. Barring unforeseen events, the two will be formally nominated at the party conventions this summer and face off at the ballot box on Nov. 5.

It’s a safe bet that, as in recent elections, this one will play out largely online and feature a potent blend of news and disinformation delivered over social media. New this year are powerful generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Sora that make it easier to “flood the zone” with propaganda and disinformation and produce convincing deepfakes: words coming from the mouths of politicians that they did not actually say and events replaying before our eyes that did not actually happen.

The result is an increased likelihood of voters being deceived and, perhaps as worrisome, a growing sense that you can’t trust anything you see online. Trump is already taking advantage of the so-called liar’s dividend, the opportunity to discount your actual words and deeds as deepfakes. Trump implied on his Truth Social platform on March 12, 2024, that real videos of him shown by Democratic House members were produced or altered using artificial intelligence.

The Conversation has been covering the latest developments in artificial intelligence that have the potential to undermine democracy. The following is a roundup of some of those articles from our archive.

1. Fake events

The ability to use AI to make convincing fakes is particularly troublesome for producing false evidence of events that never happened. Rochester Institute of Technology computer security researcher Christopher Schwartz has dubbed these situation deepfakes.

“The basic idea and technology of a situation deepfake are the same as with any other deepfake, but with a bolder ambition: to manipulate a real event or invent one from thin air,” he wrote.

Situation deepfakes could be used to boost or undermine a candidate or suppress voter turnout. If you encounter reports on social media of events that are surprising or extraordinary, try to learn more about them from reliable sources, such as fact-checked news reports, peer-reviewed academic articles or interviews with credentialed experts, Schwartz said. Also, recognize that deepfakes can take advantage of what you are inclined to believe.

How AI puts disinformation on steroids.

2. Russia, China and Iran take aim

From the question of what AI-generated disinformation can do follows the question of who has been wielding it. Today’s AI tools put the capacity to produce disinformation in reach for most people, but of particular concern are nations that are adversaries of the United States and other democracies. In particular, Russia, China and Iran have extensive experience with disinformation campaigns and technology.

“There’s a lot more to running a disinformation campaign than generating content,” wrote security expert and Harvard Kennedy School lecturer Bruce Schneier. “The hard part is distribution. A propagandist needs a series of fake accounts on which to post, and others to boost it into the mainstream where it can go viral.”

Russia and China have a history of testing disinformation campaigns on smaller countries, according to Schneier. “Countering new disinformation campaigns requires being able to recognize them, and recognizing them requires looking for and cataloging them now,” he wrote.

3. Healthy skepticism

But it doesn’t require the resources of shadowy intelligence services in powerful nations to make headlines, as the New Hampshire fake Biden robocall produced and disseminated by two individuals and aimed at dissuading some voters illustrates. That episode prompted the Federal Communications Commission to ban robocalls that use voices generated by artificial intelligence.

AI-powered disinformation campaigns are difficult to counter because they can be delivered over different channels, including robocalls, social media, email, text message and websites, which complicates the digital forensics of tracking down the sources of the disinformation, wrote Joan Donovan, a media and disinformation scholar at Boston University.

“In many ways, AI-enhanced disinformation such as the New Hampshire robocall poses the same problems as every other form of disinformation,” Donovan wrote. “People who use AI to disrupt elections are likely to do what they can to hide their tracks, which is why it’s necessary for the public to remain skeptical about claims that do not come from verified sources, such as local TV news or social media accounts of reputable news organizations.”

How to spot AI-generated images.

4. A new kind of political machine

AI-powered disinformation campaigns are also difficult to counter because they can include bots – automated social media accounts that pose as real people – and can include online interactions tailored to individuals, potentially over the course of an election and potentially with millions of people.

Harvard political scientist Archon Fung and legal scholar Lawrence Lessig described these capabilities and laid out a hypothetical scenario of national political campaigns wielding these powerful tools.

Attempts to block these machines could run afoul of the free speech protections of the First Amendment, according to Fung and Lessig. “One constitutionally safer, if smaller, step, already adopted in part by European internet regulators and in California, is to prohibit bots from passing themselves off as people,” they wrote. “For example, regulation might require that campaign messages come with disclaimers when the content they contain is generated by machines rather than humans.”

This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.


This article is part of Disinformation 2024: a series examining the science, technology and politics of deception in elections.

You may also be interested in:

Disinformation is rampant on social media – a social psychologist explains the tactics used against you

Misinformation, disinformation and hoaxes: What’s the difference?

Disinformation campaigns are murky blends of truth, lies and sincere beliefs – lessons from the pandemicThe Conversation


Eric Smalley, Science + Technology Editor, The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article (https://theconversation.com/ai-vs-elections-4-essential-reads-about-the-threat-of-high-tech-deception-in-politics-220036).

Total
0
Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • AI
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Election
  • Generative AI
  • Politics
majulah

Previous Article
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Data
  • Research
  • Science

Generative AI Could Offer A Faster Way To Test Theories Of How The Universe Works

  • March 17, 2024
View Post
Next Article
  • Cities

Total solar eclipses provide an opportunity to engage with science, culture and history

  • March 19, 2024
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Cities
  • Technology

Meralco PowerGen’s PacificLight starts up 100 MW fast-response plant in Singapore

  • dotlah.com
  • June 20, 2025
View Post
  • Technology

Apple services deliver powerful features and intelligent updates to users this autumn

  • Dean Marc
  • June 12, 2025
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Technology

Apple supercharges its tools and technologies for developers to foster creativity, innovation, and design

  • Dean Marc
  • June 11, 2025
View Post
  • Technology
  • Working Life

It’s time to stop debating whether AI is genuinely intelligent and focus on making it work for society

  • dotlah.com
  • June 8, 2025
View Post
  • People
  • Politics

Singapore PM Wong arrives in Malacañang

  • dotlah.com
  • June 4, 2025
oracle-ibm
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Technology

IBM and Oracle Expand Partnership to Advance Agentic AI and Hybrid Cloud

  • Dean Marc
  • May 6, 2025
View Post
  • Featured
  • Features
  • People

Conclave: How A New Pope Is Chosen

  • Dean Marc
  • April 25, 2025
View Post
  • Software
  • Technology

Canonical Releases Ubuntu 25.04 Plucky Puffin

  • Dean Marc
  • April 17, 2025


Trending
  • The G7 plan to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries. Image: REUTERS 1
    • People
    • World Events
    Everything you need to know about the G7’s plan to donate 1 billion vaccine doses
    • June 15, 2021
  • 2
    • Lah!
    Keppel Land And Keppel REIT Roll Out Measures To Support Tenants Through The COVID-19 Outbreak
    • April 4, 2020
  • dotlah-singapore-ndp-2024 3
    • Lah!
    Here’s what to expect for NDP 2024!
    • August 9, 2024
  • 4
    • Lah!
    Jewel Changi Airport Marks Six Months Of Operations With A Grand Opening Celebration
    • October 23, 2019
  • cemetery cross 5
    • People
    How To Move On After Losing A Loved One
    • November 19, 2020
  • 6
    • People
    • Technology
    How Technology Is Transforming Social Work Practice And Formation
    • January 30, 2020
  • 7
    • Lah!
    DBS Disburses Record SGD 9 Million To Help Social Enterprises Tide Through Pandemic
    • December 1, 2020
  • goswifties_french-inventions_20240510_wm 8
    • Featured
    • Technology
    France’s Legacy of Innovation. Celebrating Pioneering Technologies And Inventions.
    • May 14, 2024
  • 9
    • Cities
    How Trees Could Save The Climate
    • July 12, 2019
  • 10
    • Lah!
    ​NTU Singapore Researchers Speed Up Gold-standard COVID-19 Diagnostic Test
    • July 29, 2020
  • 11
    • Cities
    • Lah!
    Singapore Airlines Unveils All-New Narrowbody Aircraft Cabin Products
    • November 17, 2021
  • 12
    • People
    The States With The Most DACA Recipients
    • June 27, 2020
Trending
  • 1
    Meralco PowerGen’s PacificLight starts up 100 MW fast-response plant in Singapore
    • June 20, 2025
  • 2
    A Father’s Day Gift for Every Pop and Papa
    • June 14, 2025
  • 3
    Apple services deliver powerful features and intelligent updates to users this autumn
    • June 12, 2025
  • 4
    Apple supercharges its tools and technologies for developers to foster creativity, innovation, and design
    • June 11, 2025
  • 5
    It’s time to stop debating whether AI is genuinely intelligent and focus on making it work for society
    • June 8, 2025
  • 6
    PBBM asks Singapore to invest more in PH renewable energy projects
    • June 6, 2025
  • 7
    Singapore PM Wong arrives in Malacañang
    • June 4, 2025
  • 8
    Renewable energy, carbon credits are priority areas of cooperation for Singapore, Philippines: Lawrence Wong
    • June 4, 2025
  • 9
    Singapore businesses eye more investments in PH, says PM Wong
    • June 4, 2025
  • 10
    The Summer Adventures : Hiking and Nature Walks Essentials
    • June 3, 2025
Social Links
dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Connecting Dots Across Asia's Tech and Urban Landscape

Input your search keywords and press Enter.