MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – An AI-generated video depicting Democratic U.S. Rep. Becca Balint and potential Republican candidate Mark Koester has gone viral on social media in Vermont, raising questions about artificial intelligence and limits on free speech in elections.
The video includes AI-generated depictions of Rep. Balint and Republican Rep. Koster, who is running in the Republican primary. The AI-generated video shows fabricated statements made by candidates. Koster said he did not produce or pay for the video.
Balint called the video “creepy” and described it as a deepfake. “This is a concern not just for me, but for all of our elected officials who want to hear directly from the people of Vermont,” Balint said. He said the technology needs more guardrails. “Right now, anyone can create an AI-generated clip and post it online, and there’s really no protection.”
The video was shared by Hank Poitras, a Brattleboro-based provocative social media content creator with a controversial past. He said he has a long history of mocking elected leaders online and believes the video is protected by the First Amendment. “This video is clearly satire,” Poitras said. “Right now, this is still America, and we have free speech in the Bill of Rights, and that’s a powerful right that we have.”
The video could be the first test case for Vermont’s new law requiring AI disclosure in ads and videos within 90 days after the election. Other ads, including one in New York that targeted U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik last summer, also sparked a new law signed this week by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Supporters of Vermont’s new law argue that advances in AI are happening faster than we can keep up. “Technology is going to become increasingly believable, which is why it’s so important that Vermonters know what’s true and what’s not,” said state Rep. Chea Waters Evans (D-Charlotte).
Jared Carter, a professor at Vermont Law School, said the video would be subject to the new state law’s provisions if the court determined it was political speech rather than satire. “Maintaining the ability to tell jokes at the expense of politicians is as old as politics itself,” Carter said. But Carter said the Freedom of Information Act could be a bridge too far. “I think this law potentially has some weaknesses, even though it targets what I think we can all see as real and legitimate issues.”
The Attorney General’s Office, which enforces AI law, said it was aware of the video and was still investigating it.
Balint is a co-sponsor of the No-Fake Act in Congress, which aims to protect Americans’ names, images and likenesses with AI.
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