Description:
Now is the time to understand how AI will impact the election and YOUR vote!
There will be more misinformation (fake videos, texts, and voice) than ever.
Take a look to learn what you should know to protect your vote!
AI and the 2024 Elections Video Transcript
Elections have always been about connecting with voters. Campaigns will try almost anything to get your attention and vote. The 2024 election will require you to protect your vote because of recent advancements in artificial intelligence, AI. So how exactly is AI influencing the 2024 election?
Well, today we will cover three key things you should know about protecting your vote. But let's begin with the big picture. Tools for voter engagement have evolved from telegrams to the internet. Enter 2024, and we find another player in the arena, advanced AI. The 2024 election is all about AI literacy.
Voters need a basic understanding of how AI can impact their vote. AI is more than just technology. It reflects our society's evolution. AI has been used in past campaigns to do things such as improve the accuracy of voter registration and voting systems, help campaigns target voters and optimize their messaging to reach voters.
Have you ever considered how recent technological advances have made your lives easier? Think about it. Today, you can grocery shop without ever going to the store. You can do many things today you could not do four years ago during the last presidential election.
Well, how is this happening? AI powers all the new things we do on our devices. And how does AI work? AI needs data to work. So let's dive into AI in your vote.
Number one, Instead of a one size fits all campaign, AI enables hyper personalized messaging, reaching voters with issues that matter most to them and swaying voters with true or false information.
Analyzing voter data is invaluable. By analyzing real time data, campaigns can adjust their strategy, making outreach more effective. The efficiency of AI is unmatched, but it's not without its challenges. And the 2024 election will bring unprecedented amounts of disinformation to you, the voters. So what is misinformation or disinformation and how is it created?
To put it simply, misinformation is false. It is information created to trick voters. It is a campaign video created with AI to make you believe something about a candidate that is not true. It is a phone call that sounds like a candidate, but it is actually AI. It is a personalized fundraising letter created with AI.The most prevalent tool for misinformation is called deep fakes.
Number two, know deep fakes. Deep fakes are hyper realistic, but entirely fake content pieces that can be used to spread misinformation. In the past, creating a deep fake would require someone in technology, like someone who writes computer code.
Not anymore. Deep fakes can be created by someone from their laptop at home. It's becoming harder to differentiate accurate content from AI generated ones. And we won't get there in time to navigate truth from fiction during this campaign season.
The most troubling aspect of deepfakes is there are no guardrails to protect you as voters. There are no rules, regulations, or consequences related to creating false information during the campaign to protect voters against false news, disinformation, or false narratives. Voters must independently research key issues to determine what is true and false.
Undecided and new voters are expected to be the targets of political misinformation, which is critical given that the election is expected to be decided by a small percentage of voters in 2024. Remember that not all AI in elections is misinformation. Campaigns also use AI for positive engagement. For example, virtual assistants or chatbots help answer voter inquiries, ensuring accessibility and connection.
And local communities can easily leverage new AI tools to organize and mobilize voters. It begins with searching for the best options to meet your needs. The challenges of election misinformation are global issues at all levels of political campaigns. In Toronto, a candidate in the mayoral election who vowed to clear homeless camps released a set of campaign promises illustrated by AI. Including fake dystopian images of people camped on a downtown street and a fabricated image of tents set up in a park.
Number three, what must you do to protect your right to vote based on accurate information? Well, the answer is, question everything you see, read or hear until you have researched it. In the 2024 election you will not be able to rely on any one source, whether it is online, on TV, or in the press. Deepfakes are not online only. Broadcast TV networks cannot alter political commercials, which could also be deepfakes.
It won't be easy, but do your research to protect your right to vote. To wrap it up, question everything you see, read, or hear in any election. Do your research. Seek trusted sources confirming political deepfakes. Most importantly, protect our democracy and protect your right to vote.