Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force across industries, but its potential impact on democracies can raise serious concerns. Till now users have seen deepfake and many other technologies harming the identity of someone. As AI continues to venture into different industries, experts believe AI has the potential to disrupt elections. Microsoft has warned that China plans to disrupt the 2024 elections in the US, South Korea and India with AI-generated content after making a dry run with the presidential poll in Taiwan.
Can AI manipulate elections?
The Chinese state-backed cyber groups can target high-profile elections in 2024, alongwith North Korea, as per insights from a report by Microsoft’s threat intelligence team published on Friday. “As populations in India, South Korea and the United States head to the polls, we are likely to see Chinese cyber and influence actors, and to some extent North Korean cyber actors, work toward targeting these elections,” the report highlighted.
According to an August 2023 survey, more than one-third or 35 percent of responding adults in the United States mentioned that their trust decreased for advertisements for candidates in upcoming elections due to AI, as per insights from Statista, a market research platform. Interestingly the ability of AI to generate realistic-looking fake content, including videos and social media posts, can make it a powerful tool for sowing discord and swaying public opinion. Industry experts believe that cybercriminals could use AI to create deepfakes of politicians, create news articles, or target voters with personalised propaganda based on their fears and biases. For example imagine a politician showing up at 100 places at the same time while they are actually in their residence.
The railgaurds needed
Industry experts believe the power of AI lies in the hands of the users. The potential threat for misuse of AI needs to be addressed and proactive measures should be taken. All these measures can ensure that AI serves as a tool for strengthening democracies and not for undermining them. Furthermore, the challenge lies not just in detecting and removing this fabricated content, but also in creating awareness among voters to be discerning consumers of information. We need robust fact-checking mechanisms and increased digital literacy to counter the persuasive power of AI-generated narratives. “Safeguarding elections requires a multi-pronged approach. Collaborating with social media platforms to identify and remove AI-generated disinformation is crucial. Additionally, investing in research on AI detection and fostering open dialogue about the potential threats are essential steps,” Tarun Nazare, co-founder and CEO, Neokred Technologies, concluded.