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There was a negative political ad on TV, nothing new about that. But this one had disclaimer text at the bottom "DRAMATIZATIONS IN THIS AD WERE GENERATED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE" (in capitalized but narrow font, so not particularly prominent).
The ad showed video segments of one of the Republican contenders for the SC governor's race taking a lie detector test and lying so much that she "BROKE THE LIE DETECTOR", demonstrated by a blue flame shooting up out of the machine. It is readily apparent (to me at least) that it's not real, but that won't stop people from being influenced by it.
The end of the ad showed "PAID FOR BY THE SC CONSERVATIVE ACTION FUND. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE." From what I've seen, most attack ads are like that - funded by a PAC, not a candidate. Possibly, that is so the candidate can deny they were involved in case there is backlash against the ad.
I was thinking, surely it isn't legal to make fake videos of a political opponent to influence an election, whether thru AI or other means.
I thought the group behind the video is probably willing to pay whatever fine they might get for airing the ad as they'll have succeeded in dealing their damage.
But apparently it might not even be illegal here. And in the states where it might be illegal, the disclaimer can be enough to make it legal:
Deepfakes in Elections and Campaigns
There's going to be so much more bullshit flying around, and the people throwing it aren't even going to have to hide.
The ad showed video segments of one of the Republican contenders for the SC governor's race taking a lie detector test and lying so much that she "BROKE THE LIE DETECTOR", demonstrated by a blue flame shooting up out of the machine. It is readily apparent (to me at least) that it's not real, but that won't stop people from being influenced by it.
The end of the ad showed "PAID FOR BY THE SC CONSERVATIVE ACTION FUND. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE." From what I've seen, most attack ads are like that - funded by a PAC, not a candidate. Possibly, that is so the candidate can deny they were involved in case there is backlash against the ad.
I was thinking, surely it isn't legal to make fake videos of a political opponent to influence an election, whether thru AI or other means.
I thought the group behind the video is probably willing to pay whatever fine they might get for airing the ad as they'll have succeeded in dealing their damage.
But apparently it might not even be illegal here. And in the states where it might be illegal, the disclaimer can be enough to make it legal:
Deepfakes in Elections and Campaigns
Thirty states have enacted laws regulating the use of deepfakes in political messaging. States have generally taken two approaches: prohibitions and disclosures. Two states—Minnesota and Texas—prohibit the publication of political deepfakes a certain number of days prior to an election. Maryland has no time limit and instead prohibits deceptive deepfakes related to the election year-round. The other 27 states require disclosures on the media, like those required for who paid for a political ad, stating if it contains a deepfake. Colorado and Utah require additional disclosures...
There's going to be so much more bullshit flying around, and the people throwing it aren't even going to have to hide.