Here and Now
Edgar Lin on Regulating AI in Political Advertisements
Clip: Season 2200 Episode 2232 | 6m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
Edgar Lin on development of AI and the potential for campaign ads to deceive voters.
Protect Democracy policy strategist and lawyer Edgar Lin discusses development of generative artificial intelligence and the potential for synthetic video and audio in campaign ads to deceive voters.
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Here and Now is a local public television program presented by PBS Wisconsin
Here and Now
Edgar Lin on Regulating AI in Political Advertisements
Clip: Season 2200 Episode 2232 | 6m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
Protect Democracy policy strategist and lawyer Edgar Lin discusses development of generative artificial intelligence and the potential for synthetic video and audio in campaign ads to deceive voters.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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LISA TOLLEFSON, THANKS VERY MUCH.
>> IS THAT THE CANDIDATE'S ACTUAL VOICE AND IMAGE ON THE AIR OR ON-LINE, OR ONE GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
IN AN EFFORT TO DECEIVE VOTERS?
THIS ELECTION SEASON, IT COULD BE HARD TO TELL.
THE RECENT RELEASE OF OPEN A.I.
'S LATEST TEXT-TO-VIDEO FEATURE CALLED SORA MAKES HYPER REALISTIC YET COMPLEX ARTIFICIALLY GENERATED VIDEOS.
THE IMAGES ARE POTENTIALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCERN AS FAKE.
THAT'S WHY STATES INCLUDING WISCONSIN ARE MOVING TO ENACT LAWS AROUND THE USE OF A.I.
IN CAMPAIGNS.
A BILL MOVING QUICKLY THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE WOULD REQUIRE CAMPAIGN ADS THAT CONTAIN SYNTHETIC MEDIA, OR AUDIO OR VIDEO CONTENT SUBSTANTIALLY PRODUCED BY MEANS OF GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO INCLUDE A DISCLAIMER.
THAT'S A GOOD THING, ACCORDING TO EDGAR LIN, WISCONSIN POLICY STRATEGIST AND AN ATTORNEY WITH THE NONPROFIT, NON-PARTISAN, PROTECT DEMOCRACY.
HE JOINS US NOW.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
>> SO ARE THERE EXAMPLES THAT WE'VE ALREADY SEEN OUT THERE THAT ARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GENERATED CAMPAIGN MATERIALS?
>> YES.
THE U.S. ELECTION SEASON IS ONLY IN THE MIDST OF ITS PRY NARES AND ALREADY WE HAVE EXAMPLES OF POLITICAL PARTIES, CAMPAIGNS AND AT LEAST ONE SUPER PAC USING A.I.-GENERATED CONTENT IN ADS, CAMPAIGN VIDEOS IN VOTER OUTREACH.
I'LL GIVE YOU TWO EXAMPLES.
LAST SPRING, THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE RESPONDED TO PRESIDENT BIDEN'S RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT WITH AN A.I.-GENERATED VIDEO ILLUSTRATING THE COUNTRY'S PROJECTED FUTURE DURING A SECOND BIDEN TERM.
THE OTHER EXAMPLE THAT I CAN GIVE IS AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, SHERIFF MAIN DANIELS, A DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE IN PENNSYLVANIA, LAUNCHED AN INTERI HAVE A A.I.
POWERED CAMPAIGN CRAWLER FOR VOTER OUTREACH, SO THEY ARE BEING USED.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE U.S.
CONSISTENT WITH PROLIFERATION OF A.I.
GENERATED CONTENT IN ELECTIONS AROUND THE WORLD, ELECTIONS IN SLOVAKIA, ARGENTINA LAST YEAR, MOST RECENTLY TAIWAN AND INDONESIA.
>> ARE THEY ALWAYS USED DECEPTIVIVELY?
THAT WILL DEPEND ON THE AD ITSELF.
>> SO WHO IS MAKING THIS STUFF?
>> WELL, I THINK -- THERE'S A LOT OF TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS THAT ARE CREATING THESE TYPES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY AND THERE'S A LIST OF THEM THAT I THINK PEOPLE GENERALLY HEAR ABOUT THEM.
THERE'S CHAT-GPT, THERE'S -- THERE'S A WHOLE SLATE OF THEM.
>> ARE THEY EASY OR HARD TO SPOT FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON?
>> HEH.
THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION.
IT DEPENDS.
NOW, I WILL SAY THAT IT'S AN ARMS RACE IN TERMS OF SPOTTING, IN TERMS OF THE TECHNOLOGY.
DETECTION CAPABILITIES ARE DEVELOPING, BUT THEY ARE AND NEVER WILL KEEP UP WITH AN INCREASE OF SOPHISTICATION AND REALISM OF A.I.
GENERATE CONTENT.
PHOTOS FROM MAYBE LAST YEAR WHERE PERHAPS THE FINGERS ARE A LITTLE UNUSUAL.
BUT TODAY, THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS ALREADY INCREASED CAPABILITIES TO A LEVEL THAT WE -- WHAT WE HAVE TODAY IS DIFFERENT FROM LAST YEAR.
>> SO HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT SYNTHETIC MEDIA WOULD DECEIVE VOTERS?
>> YOU KNOW, IT IS LIKELY, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE NOT USED TO BECAUSE HISTORICALLY, WE TRUST WHAT WE SEE AND WE TRUST WHAT WE HEAR.
THAT'S VIDEO AND AUDIO.
IN TODAY'S WORLD AS THE TECHNOLOGY RAMPS UP AT AN INCREASING SPEED, THE DETECTION IS VERY HARD AND SO WITH THAT, THE LIKELIHOOD OF DECEPTION IS VERY POSSIBLE.
>> SO AT THE VERY LEAST, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT IN YOUR MIND THAT THERE'S A DISCLOSURE THAT SAYS THE AUDIO OR VIDEO CONTAINS CONTENT GENERATED BY A.I.?
>> YOU KNOW, IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
VOTERS SHOULD ANTICIPATE THEY MAY ENCOUNTER A.I.
GENERATE CONTENT RELATED TO THE ELECTION AND SHOULD NOT JUST RELY ON THEIR SENSES ALONE TO IDENTIFY WHAT'S HUMAN-GENERATE VERSUS-WH.
SO IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IN THIS -- BUT I'LL JUST SAY THAT THERE IS A -- THIS IS A PORTFOLIO OF TOOLS.
THERE IS NOT ONE SILVER BULLET.
DISCLOSURE IS ONE.
DETECTION, YOU KNOW, JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY, ALL THESE ARE A HOST OF TOOLS THAT COULD BE HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE VIEWING THESE ADS.
>> HOW COULD THIS SYNTHETIC OR A.I.-GENERATED MEDIA CAUSE EVEN MORE MISTRUST IN ELECTIONS THAN ALREADY EXISTS?
>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO THE THREATS TO OUR DEMOCRACY, THE MISINFORMATION, THE PLAYBOOK THAT PEOPLE USE, THEY'RE STILL THE SAME.
THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT A.I.
MAKES THINGS BIGGER, FASTER AND STRONGER.
IT'S ABOUT THAT ACCESSIBILITY TO THE PUBLIC, BECAUSE YOU CAN IMAGINE IN THE PAST, WE WATCH MOVIES.
THEY'RE VERY GOOD, BUT THAT'S LIMITED TO PEOPLE WHO CAN MAKE THOSE.
EVEN IF YOU THINK OF PHOTO SHOPPING.
RIGHT?
THAT'S LIMITED TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO USE PHOTO SHOP WELL.
BUT WITH SYNTHETIC MEDIA, WITH A.I.-GENERATED CONTENT, THAT DOOR HAS BEEN OPENED FOR THE PUBLIC TO USE AND SO IT'S ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY TO THESE AWESOME ACCESSIBILITY TO THESE AWESOME
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