New bill aims to regulate AI-generated election ads, prevent voter manipulation
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A proposed bill in Congress aims to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence in campaign ads. Some legislators say A.I. is incredibly easy to manipulate and could further erode public trust in elections.
“This is incredibly dangerous and we need to address it before it becomes a widespread problem,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, (D) 25th District.
The A.I. in Transparency Act, introduced in March by a Minnesota senator, would require official candidates and campaigns to clearly state if they use generative AI to mimic someone’s voice or appearance in ads. Violators would face fines.
“That ought to lead I think a voter to question if it was necessary for you to use a voice that was generated by A.I., is this something I can trust is this something I can rely on in terms of the information,” said Morelle.
Morelle, who is cosponsoring the bill, announced the legislation on Monday. He says the goal is to get this in place before the 2024 presidential election.
“At a time when voters and the public at large can be skeptical of election processes, we must be fierce and proactive in combatting any and all forms of deceptions,” Democratic Monroe County Election Commissioner Jackie Ortiz said.
“Voters need to take their own responsibility and if they hear something about a candidate or they see something about a candidate they shouldn’t just take it for granted even if it isn’t artificially intelligence generated there should be still a way to second check your own what you’ve heard or what you’ve seen and do your own research,” Lisa Nicolay, Republican Monroe County Election Commissioner.
News10NBC showed just how easy it is to manipulate A.I. by using a program to create a fake voice clip of reporter Hailie Higgins. For just $3, the program allowed the creation of the fake voice which could be used to make it sound like Higgins said things she never actually said.
Public figures like reporters and candidates are especially vulnerable since there are ample recordings of their voices available online for A.I. programs.