In 2024, artificial intelligence played a pivotal role in shaping the narrative around the United States presidential election. Many experts predicted that deepfakes and misinformation generated by AI would soon be in wide use, but reality proved less straightforward. The most common form of traditional misinformation was the leading form, including misleading social media posts and deceptively edited videos. But the potential for AI to produce synthetic media was still a matter of great concern for sovereigns and voters alike.
Days out from the election, an AI-generated voice mimicking President Joe Biden hit some controversy when a robocall was used to advocate against voter turnout in New Hampshire. This incident resulted in the Federal Communications Commission banning the use of artificial intelligence for robocalls, showcasing the growing need for regulation of this technology.
Legislation and Safeguards to Combat AI Misuse
To mitigate such concerns, sixteen states passed laws demanding the addition of disclaimers on AI generated content about elections. The Election Assistance Commission meanwhile came out with an “AI toolkit” designed to help election officials teach voters about spotting synthetic media. These efforts were designed to curb the potential misuse of artificial intelligence in spreading falsehoods during political campaigns.
For example, social media platforms also acted. Facebook parent company and owner Meta demanded that political ads make public how much AI they rely on and TikTok started automatically labelling AI generated content. The company behind popular AI chatbot ChatGPT and image creator DALL-E, OpenAI, banned the rules of their tools for political campaigns. These steps highlighted the urgency of addressing artificial intelligence-driven misinformation.
Deepfakes and Their Limited Influence
Deepfakes weren’t as big of a problem as many feared it would be. Experts noted that artificial intelligence-generated content often supported pre-existing narratives rather than fabricating entirely new claims. To take just one example: after Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, dampening the senses, claimed that Haitians were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, the internet was awash with AI generated images and memes to keep the ball spinning.
These materials were not the primary driver of misinformation, however. However, traditional methods, like text based claims on social media, worked just as well as before. “Was this ‘the AI election’ as many feared? No,’ Paul Barrett from NYU’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights said.
Public Awareness and AI Regulation
Public scrutiny and proactive measures also helped mitigate the potential harm of artificial intelligence. To educate voters about the risks of AI generated misinformation, researchers, government agencies, and advocacy groups got together. AI related political content, according to platforms like Meta, amounted to less than 1% of all fact checked misinformation and this effectiveness of these safeguards proves it.
Collective efforts of public advocates and policymakers were credited to this success by Daniel Schiff, a technology policy expert. He said strategies including deepfake detection, public awareness campaigns, and full bans made a big difference. These efforts helped ensure that artificial intelligence did not dominate the election discourse.
Foreign Influence and AI’s Role
While foreign influence campaigns have historically been a concern during US elections, artificial intelligence did not revolutionize these efforts in 2024. Instead, foreign actors continued to spread false narratives using traditional methodologies, namely staged videos. An example of that is a video claimed to show Vice President Kamala Harris involved in a hit and run that linked back to a Russian network. It’s a fake video that uses no AI but does one heck of a job selling the notion.
High cost and technical barriers of AI tools probably dissuaded foreign enemies from extensively deploying the technology, experts say. In addition, restrictions implemented by AI companies saved it from being misused for nefarious purposes.
AI’s Potential for Future Elections
Although artificial intelligence did not dominate the 2024 election, its influence cannot be underestimated. All the more reason for AI technologies to become even more developed as their ability to impact political conversation will increase. To avoid misuse in the future these innovations will have to be accompanied by deepfake detection systems and legislative safeguards progressing in parallel.
The safeguards platforms such as OpenAI and Meta have already promised to upgrade, but a long way to go. Policymakers must remain vigilant, ensuring that artificial intelligence is used responsibly in the political sphere. Experts worry that not paying enough attention could allow AI driven misinformation to eat away at people’s trust in democratic process.
