What the US can learn from the role of AI in other elections

When the generative-AI boom first kicked off, one of the biggest concerns among pundits and experts was that hyperrealistic AI deepfakes could be used to influence elections. But new research from the Alan Turing Institute in the UK shows that those fears might have been overblown. AI-generated falsehoods and deepfakes seem to have had no effect on election results in the UK, France, and the European Parliament, as well as other elections around the world so far this year. Instead of using generative AI to interfere in elections, state actors such as Russia are relying on well-established techniques--such as social bots that flood comment sections--to sow division and create confusion, says Sam Stockwell, the researcher who conducted the study. But one of the most consequential elections of the year is still ahead of us.