The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal to require US political ads to disclose their use of AI technology.
The rules, proposed by Jessica Rosenworcel, the head of a US watchdog group, would create a more transparent political environment for the public ahead of the 2024 presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections.
“As artificial intelligence tools become more accessible, the Commission wants to ensure that consumers are fully informed when the technology is used,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. . [PDF]“Today, I shared with my colleagues a proposal to make it clear that consumers have a right to know whether AI tools are used in the political ads they see. I would appreciate it if you could.”
The agency claims that AI output will be a key element of political advertising this year, allowing AI to spread misinformation and facilitate the dissemination of inadvertently created deepfakes. There is a risk of doing so.
These concerns echo those of former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said in March that AI would be an issue in elections around the world.
Similarly, Microsoft has said that even simple deepfakes could be effective when it comes to influencing elections, and that China is making the most of AI to infuriate US residents on social media.
Imagine a realistic-looking machine-generated video of people saying things they didn't actually say. To be sure, human manipulation of media, not to mention AI, has been around for a long time, but while neural networks can greatly enhance the quantity and realism of output, some argue that it can also undermine it. . Having campaigns declare their use of this technology is probably not a bad idea, assuming there are some penalties for not doing so.
The FCC specifically noted that its proposal is not intended to impose a blanket ban on AI-generated election ads, but simply to require ad creators to disclose whenever AI is used.
Rosenworcel speaks as if he doesn't know if this proposal will have support among other FCC board members, but perhaps it has enough support to be adopted. You may think so. Two of the other four commissioners are Democrats, making it unlikely that the chair would propose new rules that have no chance of passing.
As for the effectiveness of this regulation, it is difficult to predict the overall impact, given that it does not cover the internet, which is an important vector for AI-generated political content. While TV and radio advertising remains important in the US, depending on the target audience, don't discount campaign efforts through advertising on social media and streaming platforms. ®
