Artificial intelligence-generated advertisements aimed at recruiting election judges will be posted online for election commissions. Will voters know that?
A WBAL-TV 11 News investigation has revealed that advertisements for election judges are circulating on social media.
Some voters told WBAL-TV 11 News Investigates that they will now question the accuracy of election information. While everyone thought the AI’s post was sloppy, some claimed it was a marketing mistake and still had confidence in the system.
“This is clearly AI. It doesn’t look like it’s been fixed,” said voter Sophia Barnett.
“I’m pretty sure they were generated by AI,” said voter Shelley Bagbee.
Some issues are more subtle, like an ad from the Baltimore County Board of Elections that showed the pattern on Maryland’s flag was incorrect. Another ad in Baltimore County shows a man in blue giving a “thumbs up” from his stomach.
The Baltimore County Board of Elections has strict policies prohibiting AI-generated material.
WBAL-TV 11 News Investigates asked voters whether the posts gave them confidence that the Board of Elections was getting other information correctly.
“I think that makes you lose confidence in what’s going on behind the scenes,” said voter Tracy Ezell.
The Baltimore City Board of Elections does not prohibit AI-generated information, but requires that AI-generated posts be monitored through a peer review process.
Despite the oversight, one ad depicted a child with three hands and another a woman with six fingers. Another photo shows the woman’s eyes looking in a different direction.
“I don’t think anything else they’re putting out there isn’t true,” Bagbee said. “I think we’re in an age of technology. Most people are using AI in their business. But if it was a document presented to you, you might question it, but it’s a marketing image, so it’s a photo.”
The Baltimore City Board of Elections removed the post because protocol was not followed. Baltimore County Board of Elections officials said they would remove the post and ensure something like this would never happen again.
read more:Election officials remove AI-generated ads
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