The 2024 U.S. presidential election has reignited discussions on the use of AI, with some experts believing that AI-generated content played a direct role in shaping narratives.
At a recent summit in London, experts discussed the impact of artificial intelligence on politics and the battle against misinformation. Elizabeth Dubois, a professor at the University of Ottawa, highlighted how new technologies, including AI and social media, can influence electoral systems.
She noted that figures like Elon Musk and platforms like X -- formerly Twitter -- have played roles in spreading conspiracies about Trump and Harris.
A particular incident involved Musk sharing a manipulated video on X, which he owns, in July 2024, which used AI to mimic Harris's voice. The video closely resembled a genuine campaign ad but featured AI-generated audio falsely portraying Harris.
Musk initially shared the video without indicating it was a parody, leading to concerns about AI's potential to spread misinformation in politics. He later clarified that the video was intended as satire.
Earlier in the year, Trump shared a fabricated image on his social media platform, Truth Social, falsely depicting Swift endorsing him for the upcoming election. This image, created using AI, showed Swift in patriotic attire with a caption urging votes for Trump, despite her known support for Democratic candidates.
Due to the rapid removal of such misleading content by social media platforms and the evolving nature of online information, direct links to these specific AI-generated materials are not available.
However, following Trump's recent victory, Republican officials have declared U.S. elections fair and free.
To better understand the implications of such incidents on election integrity, Newsweek sought expert opinions on the evolving risks posed by AI technologies in shaping public perceptions.
Marsha Barber, Professor, Journalism at The Creative School, Media Bias
Although U.S. voters worried about the use of AI in the election, their fears appear to have been unwarranted. Although deepfakes and AI were used, this was a drop in the bucket compared to other disinformation that's routinely disseminated.
The larger concern is that many say their main news source is social media. Americans should be concerned about the way AI algorithms manipulate social media to create echo chambers that feed readers' prejudices back to them and heighten their fears. This leads to a less informed public and undermines the democratic process. We should all be concerned.
Andrew Selepak, Ph.D., Department of Media Production, Management, and Technology
Artificial Intelligence had little impact on the 2024 election, we think. There were a handful of uses of deepfakes during the election, some of which included an AI-generated voice of Joe Biden asking primary voters in New Hampshire in January to wait until the general election to vote for him, Donald Trump sharing AI images of Taylor Swift endorsing him, and AI images of Donald Trump holding dogs and cats, artificial intelligence.
While it is possible that AI content was being distributed in messaging apps, particularly among non-native voters, there is no evidence that this was widespread or had any impact on the election.
However, AI did have an important role in the election. It allowed campaigns to engage in social listening to learn what voters were saying on social media, summarize news content, and create social media and email messages quickly and cheaply. But, this didn't impact the election so much as it made the campaign process cheaper, faster, and easier for campaign staff.
Despite claims and predictions that 2024 was going to be the AI election, it had little impact and even the use of AI content created by foreign governments like Russia did little more than motivate the already motivated.
I believe that 2026 and 2028 may be different as AI technology becomes more widespread and easier to use and has the potential to influence U.S. elections. But this gives tech companies, the media, our government, and voters time to prepare for the future and protect the integrity of our elections.
Darren W. Davis, Ph.D, Department of Political Science
I think it is too soon to tell the extent AI played in the 2024 presidential election. It is probably considerably worse than we know or expect. Deepfakes, such as AI generated video, speech, and images, were certainly prevalent in the 2024 presidential election. That is the low hanging fruit, but there are a few AI features yet to be examined. AI has become more sophisticated overall, campaigns have utilized AI tools and for different purposes, foreign entities have improved AI technologies, and AI exists extensively on private platforms.
Anne Danehy, Senior Associate Dean, Academic Affairs
I am not sure we know the extent in which AI influenced the U.S. 2024 presidential election, but we know that it did have some influence.
With the help of AI, fake accounts were created by many different sources. Fringe organizations, or individuals, with extreme views were able to amplify their small voices by using AI powered bots to create large volumes of fake accounts or automate social media interactions.
These bots operate like people and cannot be distinguished. So, they like, comment, share, give more fire to extreme views, and falsely show widespread grassroots support for a particular cause or candidate.
Bots, who are mistaken for human, can also attack opponents, and influence public opinion. The ability to create really good deepfakes also allows organizations and individuals to spread disinformation quickly and easily. By creating provocative deepfakes, they can go viral and influence public opinion.
In 2024, it was expected that there would be more deepfakes, but I think we will see more in the future. Individuals' personal data has been mined and used for microtargeting, helping to create echo chambers which have, in turn, influenced voters' beliefs and actions, leading to more anger and polarization.
I doubt that most voters know that they have really been manipulated by AI. I heard, but have not verified, that after the election, specifically on X, there was a purging of accounts, which I guess could mean many things, but could point to AI creating fake accounts.
Susan Ohmer, Ph.D., Film, Television, Media and Presidential Elections
The deployment of AI in recent elections around the world has raised concerns about the potential for AI-generated videos and robocalls to misrepresent candidates and their views.
Many analysts are calling for stricter regulation but social media companies do not consistently uphold even their own standards. The real challenge will be to educate the public about how to identify and assess these deepfakes. There is an opportunity, not only for educators, but for anyone savvy about contemporary media, to figure out how to help all of us recognize and analyze these new political players.