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U.S. at high risk of AI-generated misinformation affecting election

New report warns the country will be a 'bellwether' of AI interference

Author

Emily Parkhurst
July 19, 2024

Report warns U.S. election is at high risk of AI-generated misinformation

A new report from the Economist warns the U.S. is at high risk of AI-generated misinformation in this next election.

What you probably already know: Artificial intelligence is already having an impact on global elections but a new study out this week predicts this technology will have a significant role to play in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The Economist Intelligence Unit looked at the risk factors for AI’s use in spreading misinformation ahead of an election, and the U.S. checks all the boxes.

Why? The study found that the four biggest risk factors were: The country must be a democracy; the electorate needs to be polarized; the information ecosystem needs to be fragmented; and the country must have global influence.

What it means: The report looked at all these risk factors and included some examples of ways bad actors might use AI to influence an election. In Slovakia’s parliamentary election last year, for example, an audio deepfake was released the weekend before the election that featured the leader of Progressive Slovakia — who had been ahead in the polls — talking about election rigging. His rival then won the election.

What happens now? The report warns that, while most AI-generated content is made domestically, big players like the U.S. will attract organizations that want to see the country’s global influence weakened. “The U.S. will be the bellwether as to the impact of AI-generated content in 2024,” the report states.

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