CHICAGO (WLS) — In January, two days before people were due to head to the polls for the New Hampshire primary, automated calls were sent out urging people to “save” their vote until November.
The call reportedly sounded like President Joe Biden, using his known catchphrase, “What a load of nonsense.” Prosecutors allege the call was ridiculous and featured an AI-generated voice.
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The political consultant allegedly behind the incident has been charged with voter suppression and impersonating a candidate.
Eric Nisbett is professor of policy analysis and communication in the School of Communication at Northwestern University.
“This will be the first major election cycle where AI is used, and it will be a testing ground for how AI will be used by campaigns, by candidates, and also by China, Russia or domestic malicious actors trying to interfere in our elections. So whatever lessons they learn will have huge implications for future elections,” Nisbett said.
Nisbett believes that in a deeply divided country, AI will only exacerbate those divisions.
Professor Eric Nisbett believes that in a deeply divided country, AI will only exacerbate those divisions.
“We're still trying to understand how digital media will affect political polarization. We don't yet know quite how to address it. AI will accelerate those issues in terms of misinformation and bad actors using it to create political division. It will also be interesting to see how campaigns use AI,” Nisbett said.
Nisbett said AI is most likely to be used in battleground states, but how can bad actors be held accountable?
“Currently, there are no federal regulations regarding the use of AI in elections,” Nisbett says. “Each state has passed different regulations, some already in place and some still pending. In Illinois, there are bills pending in both the House and Senate regarding the use of AI in elections, the use of fake audio and images, but this bill would create a patchwork of laws nationwide regarding AI in elections.”
He says that right now, when it comes to elections and AI, we're in a sort of “lawless zone.”
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