Staff Reports
Uh oh, it’s a technological showdown! Congress is caught in a real-life game of musical chairs, and boy, are they running out of time. The Democrats are playing dodgeball with legislation on artificial intelligence (AI) in the 2024 elections, and it looks like they might not act until after all the campaigning is done and dusted.
To spice things up, some sneaky shenanigans were recently pulled in New Hampshire, where voters received a cheeky message featuring an AI-generated fake recording of President Joe Biden’s voice, urging Democrats not to vote. How low can they go?
Meta will require political campaigns to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in advertisements, a policy that could shape how the new technology is used in the 2024 elections.
— Matthew Harrison שָׁלוֹם (@Matthew73610025) November 10, 2023
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer raised a ruckus back in September, promising to crack down on AI-generated misinformation as a top priority. But wait a minute, where’s the action? It’s all talk and no walk.
According to Adam Thierer, a tech smarty-pants at the R Street Institute, Congress is about as functional as a busted old robot. Only 27 bills got the green light in 2023, setting a record low for the folks up on Capitol Hill.
Speaking of high-tech hijinks, there were some fancy “AI Insight Forums” hosted by Schumer last year where experts dished out the deets on the risks of AI in elections. Yet, it seems like it was all chat and no action as nothing seems to have moved forward.
While a few bills on AI-generated election ads were tossed into the political salad bowl, like the REAL Political Ads Act and the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, they’ve been left to gather dust in the congressional bookshelf. Schumer and co. haven’t been very forthcoming with comments on the matter either.
The House Administration Committee, responsible for all things election-related, seems to be napping on the job, and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration isn’t exactly sprinting towards any AI legislation either.
Even the eggheads at Syracuse University are sounding the alarm, calling for clear and comprehensive regulations before it’s too late. But the gang up on the Hill are too busy playing political chess to make any progress. Thierer believes the states might have to step in to fill this yawning gap left by Congress, which could cost tech companies and campaigns a pretty penny.
The Federal Election Commission might swoop in to save the day, introducing some rules for regulating AI in political campaign ads. But with summer just around the corner, it seems like they might roll out the red tape a little too late for the 2024 election season, leaving everyone scratching their heads.
In the meantime, AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta have taken matters into their own hands, slapping their own guidelines on the table. OpenAI even adopted new protocols to help users identify AI-generated images, while Google and Meta are demanding that political advertisements disclose if they’ve used AI-generated images.
So, there you have it, folks! Congress needs to kick it into high gear and start acting if they want to prevent an AI circus in the upcoming elections. But with all the political back-and-forth, it looks like the tech drama might just play out without any guardrails in place. Tick-tock, Congress!
