On Wednesday, Klobuchar, the chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, held a hearing to determine what Congress can do to prevent artificial intelligence from undermining elections and attacking a democratic process, especially as the contest for the next U.S. president is heating up.
“Like any emerging technology, AI comes with risk, and we’d better be ready,” she said.
Earlier this month, Klobuchar introduced the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the distribution of materially deceptive AI-generated audio, images, or video relating to federal candidates in political ads or fundraising efforts. It would require that this content be taken down and allows its victims to seek damages in federal court.
Klobuchar is also the sponsor of another bill, the REAL Political Ads Act, which would require a disclaimer on political ads that use images or video generated by artificial intelligence.
But, in finding the best way to combat the increasing threat posed by AI to American elections, Klobuchar must fend off arguments that new regulations would erode First Amendment rights to free speech.
“As we learn more about this technology, we must also keep in mind the important protections of free speech in this country. These protections are needed to preserve our democracy,” said Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, the top Republican on the Rules Committee.
A witness at Wednesday’s hearing was Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, who said “we are talking about an old problem – election misinformation and disinformation – that can now more easily be amplified.”
Simon said some disinformation could come, not from an attempt to willfully hurt a political opponent, but simply through “an innocent circumstance.”
Sometimes I like to step onto my librarian soapbox. Regulating AI will be difficult, and politics is only one area where AI may be used to persuade consumers to change thoughts or actions. Another way to approach AI is preparing the consumers with digital and information literacy. Making it harder to manipulate consumers.
This isn’t an either/or proposition but with Digital Equity money coming into the State through federal funds, now is a good time to invest in education. Learning how to use email and getting a computer of your own doesn’t guarantee a person will be able to recognize real from AI but having those tools will help.
It reminds me of the old ads for Memorex (see below). I don’t know that I could ever train my years to hear the difference between recorded and live without context. But even with limited context, I can probably figure out that Ella Fitzgerald is not playing at my prom in St Paul. A lot of information literacy is looking at context and a lot of digital skills is having the tools to investigate or confirm context. Same skills that can help us recognize AI today.