NEW YORK (AP) — Edited video of a voice impersonator Vice President Kamala Harris To say what she didn’t say artificial intelligence With election day just three months away, this could be misleading.
This video attracted attention. Technology billionaire Elon Musk He shared the video on his social media platform “X” on Friday evening, without specifying that it was originally published as a parody.
The video uses much of the same footage as Harris’ actual ads. leading Democratic presidential candidate, A video was released last week marking the launch of her campaign, but in it the voiceover voice was replaced with a different voice mimicking Harris’s.
“I, Kamala Harris, am the Democratic candidate for president because Joe Biden finally showed his age in the debate,” a voice says in the video. The voice claims Harris is a “diversity hire” because she’s a woman and a person of color, and says she “doesn’t even know the basics about running a country.” The video keeps the “Harris for President” branding intact, and adds some authentic archival footage of Harris.
“We believe what the American people want is the real freedom, opportunity and security that Vice President Harris is providing, not the false, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump,” Mia Ellenberg, a spokeswoman for the Harris campaign, said in an email to The Associated Press.
The widely shared video AI-generated images, videos and audio clips As the presidential election approaches, AI has been used to poke fun at and mislead politicians, even though high-quality AI tools are much more advanced than ever before. More accessibleBut so far there has been a lack of notable federal action to regulate the use of AI, leaving the rules guiding AI in politics largely to state governments and social media platforms.
The video also raises questions about how to best handle content where the lines of appropriate use of AI are blurred, particularly content that falls into the category of satire.
The original user who posted the video, a YouTuber known as Mr. Reagan, clarified on both YouTube and X that the doctored video was a parody. But Musk’s post, which has been viewed more than 123 million times according to the platform, simply includes the caption “This is awesome” and a laughing emoji.
X users familiar with the platform may know that they can click on Musk’s post to be taken to the original user’s post and view the disclosure, though there is no instruction to do so in Musk’s caption.
What you need to know about the 2024 election
- Democracy: American democracy has weathered a major stress test since 2020. Further challenges await in 2024.
- AP Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of news on election night, with accuracy dating back to 1848. learn more.
- Stay updated. Stay on top of the latest news with breaking news email alerts. Register here.
Some participants in X’s “Community Notes” feature have suggested labeling Musk’s posts to add context to them, but as of Sunday afternoon no such labels had been added. Some online users have suggested his posts X’s PolicyIt says that users “must not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive, confuse, or cause harm to anyone.”
The policy makes exceptions for memes and satire, as long as they don’t cause “significant confusion about the veracity of the media.”
Musk endorsed Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump earlier this month. Neither Reagan nor Musk immediately responded to emailed requests for comment Sunday.
Two experts specializing in AI-generated media examined the audio from the fake ads and found that many of them were generated using AI technology.
One of them, Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley, said the video shows the power of generative AI and deepfakes.
“The AI-generated audio is so good,” he said in an email. “Most people would not believe it is VP Harris’ voice, but having the words in her voice makes the video that much more powerful.”
He said generative AI companies that offer voice cloning tools and other AI tools to the public should do more to ensure their services are not used in ways that harm people and democracy.
Rob Weissman, co-director of the advocacy group Public Citizen, disagreed with Farid and said many people would be fooled by the video.
“I think this is obviously not a joke,” Wiseman said in an interview. “I don’t think most people who see this would think it was a joke. It’s not good, but it’s good enough. And it’s precisely because it relates to the existing themes surrounding her that most people believe it’s real.”
Weissman, whose group has advocated for Congress, federal agencies and state governments to regulate generative AI, said the video was “the kind of thing we’ve been warning about.”
In the United States and other countries, AI deepfake generation tools have attempted to influence voters through misinformation, humor, or both. In Slovakia in 2023, Fake audio clips Days before the vote, he posed as a candidate discussing plans to rig the election and raise the price of beer. Satirical ads The face of a Louisiana mayoral candidate was superimposed onto that of an actor playing a struggling high school student.
Congress has yet to pass a bill on AI in politics. Federal Government Most of the existing regulations in the US are left to the states, which have only taken limited action. More than one-third of states Made its own laws According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, state governments have passed bills regulating the use of AI in campaigns and elections.
Besides X, other social media companies are also creating policies regarding synthetic and manipulated media shared on their platforms. For example, video platform YouTube will require users to disclose whether they have used generative artificial intelligence to create their videos. If they don’t, they will be suspended.
___
The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to strengthen its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. Learn more about The Associated Press Democracy Initiative here. hereThe AP is solely responsible for all content.
