Online Speech Platforms
New York Times: A.I. Is Starting to Wear Down Democracy
By Steven Lee Myers and Stuart A. Thompson
.....In the unusually concentrated wave of elections that took place in 2024, A.I. was used in more than 80 percent, according to the International Panel on the Information Environment, an independent organization of scientists based in Switzerland.
It documented 215 instances of A.I. in elections that year, based on government statements, research and news reports. Already this year, A.I. has played a role in at least nine more major elections, from Canada to Australia.
In India, the practice of cloning candidates became commonplace — “not only to reach voters but also to motivate party workers,” according to a study by the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin.
At the same time, however, dozens of deepfakes — photographs or videos that recreate real people — used A.I. to clone voices of candidates or news broadcasts. According to the International Panel on the Information Environment’s survey, A.I. was characterized as having a harmful role in 69 percent of the cases.
Not all uses were nefarious. In 25 percent of the cases the panel surveyed, candidates used A.I. for themselves, relying on it to translate speeches and platforms into local dialects and to identify blocs of voters to reach.
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