Use of AI and Deepfakes Ethically Unacceptable, Opined 85.51% In a Study

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) proposed to ban AI or deepfakes for political campaigns in the U.S. with the onset of the upcoming U.S. presidential elections. So far, five states have banned AI election deepfakes, citing ethical and other concerns. However, this is another example of how AI technology can be disadvantageous as well as beneficial.

Real Research, an online survey platform, surveyed respondents to gauge public opinion on the matter. As such, the survey on ‘deepfakes ban political campaigns in the U.S.’ revealed the following.

Highlights: 

• 46.42% felt that various U.S. political parties using AI and deepfakes was “ethically unacceptable.”
• Using AI and deepfakes to spread disinformation is ‘not at all’ a problem, said 39.35% 
• AI and deepfakes can also be used at the last minute to change the tide of the election, according to 42.28%

The survey on ‘deepfakes ban political campaigns in the U.S.’ first revealed that 49.18% were fully aware, while 34.91% were somewhat aware and 15.91% were unaware. 

The Republican National Committee, De Santis Campaign, and SOS America PAC all used AI and deepfake to create audio and video content used in political campaigns. 46.42% felt it was ethically unacceptable to do so, while 39.09% felt it was somewhat ethically unacceptable. 

11.09% opined that it is somewhat ethically acceptable to use AI and deepfakes, while 3.41% only felt it was ethically acceptable.

Deepfakes, False News, Disinformation, Repecussions

When Russian media posted videos on social media depicting U.S. President Joe Biden reading a book on dementia, netizens had several things to say; one was the authenticity of the video. This gave way to a controversy about the use of deepfake videos for spreading fake news and disinformation. A collective 69.6% of respondents found no problem with using deepfakes to spread false news and disinformation. 

I.e., 39.35% found no problem with it at all, whereas 30.25% found a minor problem. 10.58% found a moderate problem, and 19.83% had a ‘serious problem with it.’ 

However, as far as used in the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential elections, Google and Microsoft recently announced plans to implement policies that would require a label for content utilizing AI technology. 

When asked whether the above can affect voters’ decisions, over half of the respondents, 56.24%, said yes, it will affect them to a great extent. Whereas, 36.81% said that it will affect to a limited extent. 5.71% and 1.23% felt that it would not affect and ‘absolutely’ not affect decisions, respectively. 

Last-minute AI Deepfake Election Impacts

There is a chance that ads generated from AI and deepfakes can change the tide of election results at the last minute. Respondents were asked if this could be true; 42.28% felt that this could be true, 34.61% felt unsure, and 23.12% said otherwise. 

The FEC’s Deepfakes Ban Political Campaigns in the U.S.– Warranted?

In light of the above, and how nearly a majority felt that the use of AI and deepfakes could change the outcome of the election results, was FEC’s deepfakes ban on political campaigns in the U.S. warranted? Up to 47.64% said yes, whereas 19.88% said no, and 32.48% were unsure.