A lack of trust: how deepfakes and AI could disrupt the US elections | 2024 US Election News

On January 21, Patricia Gingrich was about to sit down to dinner when her landline rang. The New Hampshire voter answered the phone and heard a voice telling her not to vote in the upcoming presidential primary.

Listening to it, I thought, my God, that sounds like Joe Biden, Gingrich told Al Jazeera. But the fact that he was saying save your vote, don't use it in the next election, I knew Joe Biden would never say that.

The voice may have sounded like the President of the United States, but it wasn't him: it was a deepfake, generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

Experts warn that audio, video or image deepfakes created using AI tools, with the intent to mislead, pose a high risk to US voters ahead of the November general election, not only injecting false content into the race, but eroding public trust.

Gingrich said she hasn't fallen for Biden's deepfake, but she worries it may have suppressed voter turnout. The message reached nearly 5,000 New Hampshire voters just days before the state's primary.

That could be bad for people who aren't as informed about what's going on with Democrats, said Gingrich, chairman of the Barrington Democratic Committee in Burlington, New Hampshire.

If they really thought they shouldn't vote for something and Joe Biden told them not to, then maybe they wouldn't attend that vote.

US President Joe Biden's voice spoofed in robocall sent to New Hampshire primary voters [Leah Millis/Reuters]
Vulnerable online groups

Biden's call wasn't the only deepfake so far this election cycle. Before canceling his presidential bid, Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss shared a video containing AI-generated images of Donald Trump hugging immunologist Anthony Fauci, two figures who have clashed publicly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And in September, another robocall was sent to 300 voters expected to participate in the South Carolina Republican primary. This time, recipients heard an AI-generated voice that imitated Sen. Lindsey Graham, asking them who they were voting for.

The practice of altering or falsifying content, particularly for political purposes, has existed since the dawn of American politics. Even the nation's first president, George Washington, faced a series of spurious letters that appeared to show him questioning the cause of American independence.

But AI tools are now advanced enough to convincingly imitate people quickly and cheaply, increasing the risk of misinformation.

A study published earlier this year by researchers at George Washington University predicted that by mid-2024, daily AI attacks would increase, posing a threat to the November general election.

The study's lead author, Neil Johnson, told Al Jazeera that the highest risk comes not from recent, blatantly fake robocalls containing eyebrow-raising messages, but rather from more convincing deepfakes.

It will be nuanced images, edited images, and not entirely fake news, because fake news gets the attention of misinformation monitors, Johnson said.

The study found that online communities are linked in a way that allows bad actors to send large amounts of manipulated media directly into the general public.

Communities in swing states could be particularly vulnerable, as could parent groups on platforms like Facebook.

The role of parenting communities is going to be important, Johnson said, citing the rapid spread of misinformation about vaccines during the pandemic as an example.

I think we were suddenly going to be faced with a wave of [disinformation] many things are not false, they are not false, but they stretch the truth.

An AI-generated image released by Ron DeSantis' campaign appears to show Donald Trump, right, kissing Anthony Fauci, left. [Leah Millis/Reuters]
Public trust eroded

However, voters themselves are not the only targets of deepfakes. Larry Norden, senior director of the elections and government program at the Brennan Center for Justice, has worked with election officials to help them spot false content.

For example, Norden said malicious actors could use AI tools to ask election workers to close a polling station prematurely, by manipulating the sound of their boss's voice or sending a message apparently through the polling station's account. 'a supervisor.

It teaches election workers to protect themselves by checking the messages they receive.

Norden pointed out that bad actors can create misleading content without AI. The problem with AI is that it just makes it easier to implement at scale, he said.

Last year, Norden illustrated the capabilities of AI by creating a deepfake video of himself for a presentation on the risks the technology poses.

It didn't take long, Norden said, explaining that all he had to do was integrate his previous TV interviews into an app.

His avatar wasn't perfect, his face a little blurry, his voice a little choppy, but Norden noted that AI tools are improving quickly. Since we recorded this, the technology has become more sophisticated and I think it's increasingly difficult to tell.

Technology alone is not the problem. As deepfakes become more common, the public will become more aware of them and more skeptical of the content they consume.

This could erode public trust, with voters more likely to reject truthful information. Political figures could also abuse this skepticism for their own purposes.

Lawyers have called this phenomenon the liar's dividend: concerns over deepfakes could make it easier for subjects of legitimate audio or video footage to claim the recordings are fake.

Norden cited as an example the Access Hollywood audio that emerged before the 2016 election. In the clip, then-candidate Trump is heard talking about his interactions with women: You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy.

The recording, which was real, was seen as damaging to Trump's prospects among female voters. But if similar audio leaked today, Norden said a candidate could easily call it fake. It would be easier for the public to dismiss this sort of thing than it would have been a few years ago.

Norden added: “One of the problems we have in the United States right now is a lack of trust, and that can only make things worse.

Center-left Steve Kramer was charged with 13 counts of voter suppression, as well as misdemeanors for his involvement in the New Hampshire robocall. [Steven Senne/AP Photo, pool]
What can we do against deepfakes?

Although deepfakes are a growing concern in U.S. elections, relatively few federal laws restrict their use. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has yet to restrict deepfakes in elections, and bills in Congress remain stalled.

Individual states are scrambling to fill the void. According to a legislation tracker published by consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, 20 state laws have been enacted so far to regulate deepfakes in elections.

Several other bills in Hawaii, Louisiana and New Hampshire have passed and are awaiting governors' signatures.

Norden said he wasn't surprised to see individual states taking action before Congress. States are supposed to be the laboratories of democracy, and this is once again proving true: States act first. We all know it's very difficult to get anything passed in Congress, he said.

Voters and political organizations also act. After Gingrich received Biden's fake call in New Hampshire, she joined a lawsuit led by the League of Women Voters demanding accountability for the alleged deception.

The source of the call turned out to be Steve Kramer, a political consultant who claimed his intention was to draw attention to the need to regulate AI in politics. Kramer also admitted to making the robocall in South Carolina, impersonating Senator Graham.

Kramer came forward after NBC News revealed he commissioned a magician to use publicly available software to generate the deepfake of Biden's voice.

According to the lawsuit, the deepfake took less than 20 minutes to create and cost just $1.

Kramer, however, told CBS News that he received exposure worth $5 million for his efforts, which he hoped would allow AI regulations to be implemented or unless it starts to make a profit.

My intention was to make a difference, he said.

Paul Carpenter, a New Orleans magician, said he was hired to create a fake of President Biden's voice. [Matthew Hinton/AP Photo]
Ability to apply existing laws

But the Kramers case shows that existing laws can be used to reduce deepfakes.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), for example, ruled (PDF) earlier this year that voice-imitating software falls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and is therefore illegal in most circumstances.

The commission ultimately proposed a $6 million fine against Kramer for the illegal robocall.

The New Hampshire Department of Justice also charged Kramer with felony voter suppression and impersonating a candidate, which could result in up to seven years in prison. Kramer has pleaded not guilty. He did not respond to a request for comment from Al Jazeera.

Norden said it's significant that none of the laws Kramer is accused of breaking are specifically tailored to deepfakes. The criminal charges against him have nothing to do with AI, he said. These laws exist regardless of the technology used.

However, these laws are not as easy to apply to bad actors who are unidentifiable or located outside the United States.

Intelligence agencies tell us they already see China and Russia experimenting with these tools. And they expect them to be used, Norden said. In this sense, you are not going to legislate to get out of this problem.

Norden and Johnson believe the lack of regulation makes it more important for voters to educate themselves about deepfakes and learn how to find accurate information.

As for Gingrich, she said she knows manipulative deepfakes will only become more pervasive. She also believes that voters must inform themselves about the risks.

His message to voters? I would tell people to make sure they know they can vote.

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