The era of AI in politics is here. With the right safeguards, it can benefit society

This column was written entirely by me, with no involvement or assistance from artificial intelligence whatsoever. The same, however, cannot be said of robocalls made January in the New Hampshire primary that appeared to be from President Joe Biden; nor of recent audio that seemed to capture the voice of Manhattan Democratic Party leader Keith Wright. Both of these high-profile incidents were deepfakes — phony recordings generated by artificial intelligence designed to sound authentic but in reality are fabricated. And whether it’s an imposter President Biden or a counterfeit Keith Wright, both episodes portend the threat posed to our elections and our democracy by bad faith actors skilled at manipulating AI.    The era of artificial intelligence in politics is officially here, whether we like it or not, and the truth is the current regulatory landscape is insufficient to prevent the dangers of widespread fraud and disinformation. This will be the dominant tech story of the 2024 election cycle, up and down the ballot, and the consequences of how we respond now will reverberate for years. But the choice before us is a simple one: Do nothing and let deception further corrupt our politics, dupe voters and imperil free societies; or demand real regulations that not only defend the voting public against fraud — but allow us to unleash the positive benefits that AI can offer us all. Artificial intelligence possesses enormous potential to democratize politics by transforming voter contact with nuanced communication at massive scale, and reducing dependence on big donors. It’s exciting to…The era of AI in politics is here. With the right safeguards, it can benefit society