by Aby Lo ‘26

Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI, is improving so fast that many are concerned that it could have serious and unpredictable effects on the presidential race and election. There have been examples over the past six months of AI being used to create fake photos and spread false information to influence the election.

AI deep fakes are very easily accessible and they are likely impacting the 2024 election. In January, fake robocalls in New Hampshire used an AI-generated impersonation of President Biden’s voice to urge Democrats not to vote in the state’s primary. In July of 2023, a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP primary used AI to imitate Trump’s voice in an ad attacking him.

At least 25 states have passed regulations against election deep fakes, but federal action remains largely delayed. Senators have offered two bills to address the issue, but they have not been taken up in a vote. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has made it illegal for robocalls to use AI-generated voices during election campaigns. The ruling gives state attorney generals the ability to take action against callers using AI voice cloning tech.

Experts are worried about other countries using AI to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. One example is that U.S. operatives found out that Chinese and Iranian use AI to create fake videos and audios. Although the operatives never disseminated the deep fake audio or video publicly, the previously unreported intelligence demonstrates concerns U.S. officials had already four years ago about the willingness of foreign powers to put out false information about the voting process.

Another concern is that AI will be used to try to disenfranchise voters by sending out misleading or false information about how to vote in the presidential election. According to an article published by the Brennan Center for Justice, “Generative AI introduces the possibility of more sophisticated methods of deception, capable of being deployed more cheaply and swiftly on a wider scale. AI’s persuasive potential may increase over time as current technological limitations are quickly surpassed and different forms of AI are coalesced in new ways.”