(NewsNation) — Celebrities have teamed up to warn people about the dangers of artificial intelligence and its impact on the election with less than two weeks to go until Election Day.
A new public service announcement from RepresentUs shows actors and actresses talking about AI to demonstrate how difficult it can be to tell the real versions from AI-generated ones.
CEO Joshua Graham Lynn told NewsNation there’s a danger AI could be used to keep people from going to the polls in a tight race where every vote could be critical.
Lynn said the technology used in the PSA was advanced, but less sophisticated techniques can be equally damaging.
“What’s a lot scarier is a phone call that sounds like it’s from an election official or even just a flier that’s put up around town,” he said.
With AI technology advancing rapidly, it’s increasingly difficult to figure out what’s real and what’s a deepfake, raising the chances people can be misled by images or videos.
The Federal Election Commission announced in September it would not be implementing new rules regarding AI, allowing false phone calls, text messages and even deepfakes to go unchecked.
“The problem here is regulation is always going to be behind the worst actors,” Lynn said. “While we think regulation is hugely important, we think it’s important that social media sites crack down.”
The use of AI has already been seen in the 2024 election season.
In August, former President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of Taylor Swift endorsing him, which was proved to be fake. Swift later endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the election.
Last week, voting rights groups in Wisconsin requested a federal investigation into anonymous text messages being sent to college students, threatening them if they vote.
In September, a deepfake caller posing as a Ukrainian foreign minister held a Zoom meeting with a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
When it comes to AI, if something feels off, it probably is. People who are confused about any aspect of voting can always reach out to their secretary of state’s office for the most accurate information to help avoid falling for deepfakes.
