Democrats and Republicans are engaged in a race over who can make use of artificial intelligence in the upcoming election.
Democrat strategists say the party is still stinging from getting outplayed on social media during the 2016 election. However, they claim that Democrat candidates are hesitant to embrace artificial intelligence because of concerns about the technology’s role in spreading disinformation.
For now, Democrat candidates are mostly using AI to better identify deceptive content and help motivate and attract voters.
While both parties have used artificial intelligence for years to collect and analyze data, the recent advances in generative AI now allow candidates to generate images, duplicate human voices, and create videos at unprecedented speeds.
So-called disinformation experts have warned of the risks AI technology poses to elections by misleading voters through phony robocalls, fake videos or images, and social media posts.
In February, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella opened a criminal investigation after Granite State voters received robocalls purportedly from President Biden urging them not to vote in the Democrat primary. The president’s voice was created using artificial intelligence.
The investigation determined that the robocalls were linked to two Texas companies, Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom.
That same month, the Federal Communication Commission banned robocalls that use AI-generated voices under the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said AI-generated robocalls could be used to misinform voters or impersonate people to extort money from family members.
The president signed an executive order seeking to rein in artificial intelligence while Democrat lawmakers have urged Congress to pass legislation to place safeguards around AI technology.
Republican and Democrat campaigns avoid discussing how they plan to use artificial intelligence, largely to avoid giving away proprietary information.
Trump campaign spokesman Steve Cheung said in a statement that the campaign uses “proprietary algorithmic tools” to “deliver emails more efficiently” and to keep sign-up lists free of false information.
