Two thought-providing articles that mankind had better pay
attention to the massive and sudden growth of AI … check out this first article
from BUSINESS INSIDER on the
subject with this headline:
“An AI weapons race may create a world where everyone stays inside out
of fear of being ‘chased down by swarms of slaughterbots’ warns the founding
Skype engineer.”
We could be reaching an “Oppenheimer moment” that is in other
words: Researchers are questioning their responsibility for developing
technology that might have unintended consequences just like the first A-bomb
had.
Tesla’s Elon Musk; Apple’s
co-founder Steve Wozniak; Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque; researchers at
Alphabet's AI lab DeepMind; and notable AI professors signed an open letter
issued by the “Future of Life Institute” calling for a six-month pause on
advanced AI development saying part: “Advanced AI could represent a
profound change in the history of life on Earth, and should be planned for and
managed with commensurate care and resources. Unfortunately, this level of
planning and management is not happening, even though recent months have seen
AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more
powerful digital minds that no one — not even their creators — can understand,
predict, or reliably control.”
The second article on the
same subject focuses on election tampering is here from Campaign Legal Center (CLC) with
this headline:
“How Artificial
Intelligence Influences Elections, and What We Can Do About It:
AI technologies could easily be used to manufacture fake images and
false evidence of misconduct, such as ballot tampering or shredding.
That would not only erode public trust in the results of elections,
it could fuel additional public threats of violence against election
administrators.
The year 2024 will be the first election year to feature the
widespread influence of AI before, during, and after voters cast their ballots,
including in the making and distribution of public messages about candidates as
well as electoral processes. CLC has been working hard to help address the
impact of AI on our democracy.
That includes educating the public about what to expect
in upcoming political campaigns and recommending policy solutions lawmakers should adopt
to mitigate the greatest risks to our election system.
CLC has particularly highlighted the
danger of political ads that use AI technology to generate deceptively realistic
false content — such as “DEEPFAKES”: Which are manipulated media that depict people doing or saying things they
didn’t say or do, or events that didn’t really occur — to mislead the public
about what candidates are asserting, their positions on issues, and even
whether certain events actually happened.
If left unchecked, these fraudulent and deceptive uses of AI
could infringe on voters’ fundamental right to make informed decisions.
In addition to influencing the voters’ perceptions of
candidates, AI could be used to manipulate the administration of elections,
including by spreading disinformation to suppress voter turnout.
Bad actors could use AI tools to create and distribute
convincingly false messages about where or when to cast a ballot, or to
discourage voters from showing up to their polling locations in the first
place.
The average voter hearing this message might reasonably have
concluded that Biden had actually recorded the message, and that they should
comply with his request — effectively disenfranchising them.
Looking ahead, it is not hard to imagine other fabricated
messages from trusted voices being used to dissuade citizens from voting,
undermine their ability to vote or to raise false alarms about emergency
situations like a fire or an attack that would persuade voters to stay at home
on Election Day.
AI also creates new opportunities for bad actors to
undermine election administration or sow unjustified doubt about election results.
AI technologies could easily be used to manufacture fake
images and false evidence of misconduct, such as ballot tampering or
shredding. That would not only erode public trust in the results of elections,
it could fuel additional public threats of violence against election
administrators.
In recent years, nonpartisan election workers have already
faced unprecedented
levels of threats and harassment while trying to ensure our democratic
process is smooth and fair. AI technology could make their situation even
worse.
Even after all the ballots have been cast, AI could be used
to fabricate
audio of a candidate claiming they rigged the results, or to generate other
misinformation that could persuade the supporters of a failed campaign to
disrupt vote counting and certification procedures, which are already
increasingly politicized and served as the basis for the effort to sabotage the
2020 presidential election (and we all recall who from).
Fake media made with AI have already been used to influence
major elections in Argentina and Slovakia. To
be clear, the risks of election manipulation, voter suppression, and
misinformation all predate the arrival of AI-based media tools.
AI undoubtedly provides bad actors with easy access to new
tools to harm our democracy more easily and effectively, increasing the urgency
of a robust response.
Many necessary solutions also go beyond regulating new technologies, and laws often
lag behind even well-established tech.
States have taken action; or passed a bill, drafted legislation, even citizen groups proposing bills
ranging from mandatory disclaimers that would inform voters when AI is being
used in elections, to legislation banning political DEEPFAKES.
At the federal
level, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in Congress that would prohibit the
distribution of deceptive AI-generated content to influence an election or to
fund raise.
Federal agencies are also considering what they can do to safeguard our democracy in the age of AI, with
some proposals that
would extend beyond elections but nevertheless help address the specific risks
voters face.
For example, in response to the AI-generated fake Biden
robocall in NH Hampshire (cited above), the FCC outlawed certain robocalls containing voices generated by
AI.
Finally, new education efforts are underway to simply prepare the public for AI-generated
media being used to influence and possibly manipulate elections, which will
hopefully help mitigate its worst effects.
Twenty major tech
companies, including Google; Meta (the parent company of Facebook and
Instagram); OpenAI; X (formerly Twitter); and TikTok have all recently pledged to take concrete steps to detect, track, and combat the use of
DEEPFAKES and other election interference efforts.
Of course, they must follow through on those promises.
Although it is encouraging
to see widespread interest in preventing AI-based election manipulation, many
proposed solutions are still a long way from providing tangible protection for
voters and the electoral process.
This is why the CLC continues to urge policymakers across
the country to redouble their efforts and take strong action to address the
unique challenges AI creates for our democracy in this by far and most-critical
election year in our national political history.
My 2 Cents: All I can say we all had better be alert this election
cycle
Otherwise we may hear this
phrase from that famous movie line by Arnold Schwarzenegger who said: “I’ll
be bach…” (A little humor).
Just kidding, but not very much – this
whole AI topic is real and fast moving and very critical. We must not allow it
to get out of hand. Rules and safeguards can and must be in place to protect
our right to vote free, fair, safe, and secure and then in other aspects of
human survival.
This is not hyperbole, just realistic
concern keeping in mind the first word in AI is “Artificial” and artificial means “not real,” and yet possibly harmful or dangerous nevertheless.
So, why don’t the AI
controllers just speak the truth and say: “That news report this is not real
news; that image is not a real person; that is now so and so speaking; the
election results you see are not real; your vote was not counted – your mail-in
ballots came into late, etc., etc., etc.)? I guess the truth hurts?”
Well, I say that truth is countermanded
by the most-important word of all in politics and that word is “power” – Power’s
goal is just that simple and it is built on: Name, Fame, and Fortune.
Thanks for stopping by.
