Shaping The Future Through Artificial Intelligence

Deepfakes and misinformation generated by AI could undermine elections and democracy,"- Bill Gates. The ever present threat of falsified information is not new for democracies, but artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to compound these existing problems, particularly in the near-term. Recently, in New Hampshire, a fake version of President Joe Biden’s voice was featured in robocalls that sought to discourage Democrats from participating in the primary. AI images that falsely depicted former President Donald Trump sitting with teenage girls on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane circulated on social media last month. A deepfake posted on Twitter last February portrayed a leading Democratic candidate for mayor of Chicago as indifferent toward police shootings. It is very clear how dangerous and misleading deepfake AI can be not only to elections and democracy but as it relates to one’s reputation. Given that the date for local government elections was on Monday, February 26, 2024 it is imperative that the Jamaican electorate be alerted to the possibilities concerning deepfake AI and the impact this intelligence can have regarding the outcomes of elections as well as on the democratic process. The local government elections will be contested by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and People’s National Party (PNP). Without a doubt a lot will be at stake concerning the local government elections. The Prime Minister Andrew Holness will be testing his party’s standing with the electorate while the Opposition Leader, Mark Golding will have his electoral baptism given this will be his first time leading the PNP into an election. Unfortunately, many of us have not considered the impact that Artificial Intelligence can have on our democracy. Perhaps, now is the time for us to ponder the implications given we are on the cusp of yet another election. In today’s society, the vast majority of individuals get their information regarding the world and formulate their opinions based on content from the internet. As a result, anyone with the capability to create deepfakes can release misinformation and influence the masses to behave in a way that will advance the faker’s personal agenda in some way. Deepfake-based misinformation could wreak mayhem on both the micro and macro levels within any society. In the days prior to Slovakia’s highly contested parliamentary election, deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence spread across social media. In one posted by the far-right Republika party, Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Šimečka apparently “announced” plans to raise the price of beer if elected. In a second, more worrisome fake audio recording, Šimečka “discussed” how his party will rig the election, including by buying votes from the country’s Roma minority. Šimečka said there is no way to know whether the deepfake altered the outcome of the election, which his party lost to a more Russia-friendly party. He added, the interjection of deepfake probably had some effect. Defining Deepfake Artificial Intelligence. A deepfake is an artificial image or video (a series of images) generated by a special kind of machine learning called “deep” learning (hence the name). One of the best examples of deepfakes involves the use of image processing to produce video of celebrities, politicians or others saying or doing things that they never actually said or did. The issue of deepfake is not a Hollywood production it is a reality of the 21st century. All users of the internet should be very aware of new and emerging technologies especially AI powered tools and applications. It is clear that artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to target elections and could threaten future ones. As a result in order to protect the democratic process, the free world must learn from Slovakia and strengthen its ability to counter AI-generated disinformation threats. The Politics of Polarization. In hyperpolarized societies like the United States, AI-generated disinformation may undermine voters’ ability to make informed decisions before elections. Recently, online images have been circulating in the United States of America with former president Donald Trump surrounded by a group of Black people smiling and laughing. Nothing appears out of the ordinary at first glance, but a look closer is telling. Odd lighting and too-perfect details provide clues to the fact they were all generated using artificial intelligence. The fabricated images, highlighted in a recent BBC investigation, provide further evidence to support warnings that the use of AI-generated imagery will only increase as the November presidential election approaches. Experts said they highlight the danger that any group Latinos, women, older male voters could be targeted with lifelike images meant to mislead and confuse as well as demonstrate the need for regulation around the technology. However, in democracies like Jamaica the political culture is just as polarizing but with a difference. In the United States of America the electorate tends to vote on issues while in Caribbean societies the electorate tends to vote for the party leader. Therefore the extent to which deepfake can and will penetrate the US electoral system will not be the same in societies where political leaders are the main catalyst for voter turnout. The fact is in any political culture there will be always be various levels of coercion in order to sway the electorate especially among the global trend of voter apathy. Voter Apathy. The increase in voter apathy in Jamaica and the Caribbean is concerning. The political attractiveness in Jamaica’s political culture over the years has lost some of its appeal as many voters do not see a huge ideological difference between both the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the opposition party the People’s National Party (PNP). Clearly, this is not good for our democracy. In the 2020 general elections the overall voter turnout was approximately 37 per cent, compared to 48.37 per cent in the 2016 General Election. With the exception of the first general parliamentary election under Universal Adult Suffrage held in December 1944 when there was a 58.38 per cent turnout, the number of voters casting ballots had steadily increased, reaching 86.91 per cent in 1980. However, the numbers have been slipping since 1989. In 1983 there was a 29.49 per cent turnout in the general elections due to the boycott by the People’s National Party. The Electoral Office of Jamaica reported that the voter turnout in the Local Government election held on February 26, 2024 was 29.6 percent. This clearly means that 70% of those eligible to vote did not exercise that right. This trend augurs ill for democracy and citizen participation not only in Jamaica but in numerous countries across the globe. The situation is similar in many Caribbean countries, which have either recorded small, yet steady, declines over the past five general elections or so, or have maintained turnout in the low to mid-50 per cent range. Vigilance Required. All stakeholders who have a vested interest in the democratic process, including the Electoral Office of Jamaica, have a significant role to play in ensuring fairness of our elections and safeguarding our rich democratic legacy. It is very welcoming that Meta, a major social media platform has taken steps to remove creators of artificial intelligence from their various platforms namely Instagram, Facebook and Threads. Meta said they are working to identify and label AI-generated images shared on its platforms that were created by third-party tools, as the company prepares for the 2024 election season amid a proliferation of artificial intelligence tools. Meta added that in the coming months, they will start adding “AI generated” labels to images created by tools from Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Adobe, Midjourney and Shutterstock, Meta Global Affairs President Nick Clegg said in a blog post Tuesday. Meta already applies a similar, “imagined with AI” label to photorealistic images created with its own AI generator tool. Clegg said Meta is working with other leading firms developing artificial intelligence tools to implement common technical standards essentially, certain invisible metadata or watermarks stored within images that will allow its systems to identify AI-generated images made with their tools. A Clear and Present Danger. The risk of spreading false information has increased with artificial intelligence and without a doubt this can mislead voters ahead of 2024 elections in a number of countries. With scores of countries holding elections this year, the challenges posed by deepfakes are a global issue. Among the countries are: the United States of America, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Jamaica, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. The call should now be for stringent monitoring and the required legislative framework to prevent any likelihood of interference from artificial intelligence to meddle into the affairs of a sovereign state. Undoubtedly, social media platforms and AI companies must do more to protect users from AI’s damaging consequences. Importantly, digital literacy and critical thinking skills are two important tools of defense against AI-generated misinformation that we must all embrace in countering this emerging culture of false information. In the words of Tristan Harris, by allowing algorithms to control a great deal of what we see and do online, such designers have allowed technology to become a kind of ‘digital Frankenstein’, steering billions of people’s attitude, beliefs and behaviours. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com © #deepfake #democracy #artificialintelligence