Lawmakers must protect election from generative AI — Michael Bailey

I’m excited to be a part of and witness to one of America’s most incredible displays of democracy: the presidential election. After months of campaigns and debates, with candidates sharing their platforms and plans, citizens head to the polls to vote for the candidate they think is most suited to lead our country.

However, the fairness of America’s 2024 presidential election is at risk because some of the information Americans receive is questionable. Recent innovations in generative artificial intelligence mean bad actors’ ability to spread misinformation and influence citizens has never been greater.

There is a lot to love about generative AI. As a technology fanatic, I’m excited to think about the many uses of this advancement, and I consider it to be one of the most revolutionary innovations for society since the creation of social media. But, just like social media, I fear its capabilities in vindictive hands. Congress and state legislators must act now to protect our democracy from those abusing this powerful tool.

AI has incredible power and potential to misinform and manipulate Americans in our elections or, even worse, discourage them from voting altogether. Scarier still, AI can be deployed in this way efficiently and cheaply.

We’re already seeing generative AI being mobilized to spread election misinformation. During the New Hampshire primaries, a robocall impersonating President Biden was delivered to thousands of citizens encouraging them to “save your vote” for the November general election, a possible attempt at voter suppression.

Globally, we see AI being used similarly. Recently, a female politician in Bangladesh was a victim when a generated photo portraying her in a bikini surfaced to dissuade public support of her in a predominantly Muslim society.

Authoritarian regimes — including Russia and China — understand the threat informed citizens at home and abroad pose to their contemptuous agendas. They will be keen to manipulate our elections this year. Regardless of where the misinformation stems from, the goal is to use AI as a model to widen the polarization and divisions we’re already seeing.

What can we do about it? Minnesota recently passed a law banning deepfakes created to influence our elections. A violator can be fined or even imprisoned for partaking in efforts to misinform the public. Similar legislation in other states is promising.

The Minnesota law is a great start, but this issue must be addressed at the congressional level to maintain confidence in our elections. Generative AI is growing more sophisticated.

About 95% of Americans believe that misinformation is a problem regarding current events, according to a recent Pearson Institute/AP-NORC poll. At the George W. Bush Institute, we are working to strengthen our nation’s democracy by reinforcing essential initiatives such as civics education, pluralism, trust, civility and citizenship.

The conversation around generative AI can become a great bipartisanship effort. It’s an opportunity for the public and private industries to collaborate on addressing innovation around combatting misinformation. National forums with leading thinkers across sectors are integral to determining effective solutions and identifying what is real and what is generated.

It starts with AI developers and respective corporations, but we shouldn’t leave policy decisions up to them. We’ve already seen the inadequacy of deferring too much to the private sector to make similar decisions on social media.

We must not silo the inherent effects of AI to those who created it.

Ultimately, American leadership on this issue matters. We have an opportunity to lay the groundwork for global efforts to thwart misinformation.

As we head to the polls, Americans will need greater support deciphering fact from fiction than in the past. Being informed and having the ability to be informed is something all of us should care deeply about.

The innovations of generative AI are remarkable, but as with any technology, it can be used maliciously. We must act now to maintain a high level of confidence in our 2024 election.

Michael Bailey is senior program manager of leadership programs at the George W. Bush Institute. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.