Democratic elections not safe from AI interference, former Google boss warns

Democratic elections are not safe from AI interference, a former Google boss has warned. Eric Schmidt, who ran the tech giant for a decade, said fake images and videos of every politician would likely flood the internet during campaigning. This spread of AI-generated misinformation would drive the public'crazy' as they wouldn't be able to work out what was true, he predicted. Speaking to Andrew Marr on LBC, Mr Schmidt said the UK and US were'clearly' ahead in the AI race - and it was vital they decided what was'acceptable in democracy' when it came to regulation. His comments come as ministers are preparing to protect the next general election from manipulation by AI over fears it could be hijacked by deepfakes spread by hostile forces.