Elections in the Time of Generative AI

Hello, fellow netizens! Have you noticed the hilarious political memes popping up everywhere, lately? You know, the ones where Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are Photoshopped into bizarre scenarios. Or those deepfake videos where they’re saying ridiculous things they’d probably never utter in real life. Welcome to the wild world of elections in the age of generative AI! Be it the newspapers or social media, be it in the US or India, generative AI seems to be ruling the political campaign game worldwide. Amidst the preps for the 2024 US Presidential elections, let’s find out how this new technology is giving our democratic processes a high-tech makeover.

Understanding Generative AI

Before we dive into the core of the article, let’s first understand what generative AI actually is. Imagine a super-smart robot that can create images, captions, videos, and all kinds of content, exactly as you ask it to. That’s basically GenAI for you. Think of it as a virtual artist or writer, well-trained with all the data that exists. Based on that knowledge, and the prompts you give, this virtual creator can generate content mimicking the creativity of humans. This content could be anything from news articles, speeches, and catchy slogans, to memes, social media posts, and realistic videos.

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney are reshaping how content is created, shared, and consumed by the masses, during political campaigns. While generative AI can enhance political engagement and streamline campaigning, it also raises concerns about misinformation, manipulation, and false propaganda. In this article, we will explore both, the opportunities and the threats that generative AI brings to the election arena.

Opportunities Presented by Generative AI

Generative AI can be a very helpful tool during elections. It can optimize election campaigns, enhance voter engagement, and also help in gaining public trust. Here’s how:

Enhanced Voter Engagement

Generative AI can help political parties craft regional slogans and tailor messages for different demographic segments. In the US, tailored messaging has been helping politicians reach younger voters through the platforms they frequently use.

AI can also create campaign content in multiple languages, which increases accessibility in democracies like India, where language diversity is vast. Speeches and slogans in regional languages help in connecting better with the local public, thereby enhancing voter engagement.

Improved Campaign Strategies

Generative AI can optimize political campaigns by creating personalized content for different voter demographics. Data analytics powered by AI can assist parties in understanding voter preferences and behaviors. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI can identify key issues, target swing voters, and accordingly optimize outreach strategies.

Generative AI can also be used to automate social media posts and analyze voter sentiments in real-time. This allows campaigns to respond more effectively to public concerns and quickly adapt their strategies.

Facilitate Voter Education

Generative AI tools can assist in providing voters with easy access to information about candidates, policies, and electoral processes. These tools can compare the manifestos of different candidates and also give assessments based on the candidate’s history and profile.

Voters can also get insightful summaries and detailed analyses of debates and speeches from their online video links or other recordings, using generative AI. All of this increases transparency during election campaigning, empowering voters to make informed decisions and fostering a more engaged electorate.

Threats Posed by Generative AI

Despite the many uses of generative AI in improving elections around the world, the technology also gets misused around election time to create and spread misinformation. Here are some threats posed by generative AI, in the context of elections:

Polarization and Echo Chambers

AI can cause or intensify political polarization by creating echo chambers. AI algorithms used in online news aggregators and social media platforms, often prioritize content that aligns with the users’ existing beliefs. This limits their exposure to diverse perspectives, creating echo chambers of selective ignorance. This can deepen divisions within the electorate, making consensus-building more challenging. At a foundational level, this threatens the very fabric of democratic discourse.

Misinformation and Disinformation

One of the most significant threats of generative AI in elections is the potential for misinformation. AI can generate realistic but false content, such as deepfake videos or fake news articles, which may cause voter manipulation and impact public trust. Further, the spread of fake information can influence the perception and behavior of the voters, leading to a misinformed electorate.

There was an incident in January 2024, where AI-generated robocalls mimicking the voice of President Joe Biden, were made to voters, affecting their turnout. This made the US government take up combating the negative use of GenAI in elections, more seriously. It initiated discussions in the US around data privacy, transparency, and accountability in AI, which are still ongoing. However, no effective legislation has been passed on this so far.

More recently in September 2024, a deepfake image of Taylor Swift endorsing Donald Trump was making rounds on the internet. This resulted in the singer-songwriter publicly endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris on Instagram, partly as a response to fighting AI-generated misinformation. Such incidents have encouraged OpenAI and Google to develop and implement security frameworks to curtail the generation and spread of AI-generated fake content.

Meanwhile, India is dealing with issues related to digital governance and misinformation, while trying to regulate social media platforms, especially around election-related content.

Knowing that there is AI-generated fake content out there, can lead to skepticism among public, regarding the authenticity of the information. Voters may find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between genuine news and AI-generated fabrications.

How Can You Ensure What You Read is Genuine?

As the influence of generative AI on voters is increasing, democracies like India and the US, are facing significant regulatory challenges. So, for now, here are some things you can do to ensure you’re not tricked by misinformation during election campaigning.

1. Always verify the content you find online, fact-check, and critically evaluate it before sharing.
2. Pay attention to news sources and official statements for reliable updates and content.
3. Use AI-detection tools to check if any of the content you are reading was AI-generated.

Conclusion

As we stand at the crossroads of generative AI and elections, it’s clear we’re in for a wild ride. From the hilarious political memes that light up our feeds to the serious risks of misinformation, the campaigning landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace.

It is hence crucial to strike a balance between harnessing the benefits of generative AI and implementing safeguards to protect the integrity of the electoral process. Collaborative efforts among governments, tech companies, and civil society will be essential to navigate this evolving landscape effectively.

As we prepare for the 2024 US Presidential elections, let’s keep our eyes peeled, our memes ready, and our skepticism high. After all, in this brave new world of politics, knowledge is power—and a good meme doesn’t hurt either!

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K.C. Sabreena Basheer

Sabreena Basheer is an architect-turned-writer who's passionate about documenting anything that interests her. She's currently exploring the world of AI and Data Science as a Content Manager at Analytics Vidhya.