The Synopsis:
On January 22, 2024, New Hampshirites received a called from a supposed ‘Joe Biden’ to abstain their voting in the New Hampshire presidential primaries. Verbatim, the voice note states, “Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again.” Kathy Sullivan, organizer of the super PAC to urge democrats to write Biden’s name in the primary, is the number with which the voice note ends, and she plans to litigate anyone who is involved in A.I. - generated misinformation.1
The Public Commentary:
The commentary from republicans and democrats are alike, stating that impersonation of a presidential candidate through A.I. is a threat to American democracy.
Dean Phillips, republican representative of Minnesota, has stated that the call was “wildly concerning.1
Maggie Hassan, democratic senator of New Hampshire, hopes that the attempt for voter suppression would backfire.1
The Analysis:
I am concerned about American democracy because it can be easily abused and manipulated. Prior to generative A.I., there were organizations spreading misinformation about the Biden election and COVID-19, which have led to deleterious consequences. Also, identifying real, authentic information from fake, harmful information may have been feasible; however, now, A.I. can ‘authenticate’ misinformation, making it specious and blurring the line of truth. Additionally, I believe it is an opportune time to create organizations, specifically, debunking and verifying A.I. - generated content, which would involve the public, federal agencies, entertainment, and many other industries; a concerted effort, requiring all domains constant monitoring and input, would mitigate the spread of false, A.I. - generated content. The time has always been the present to promote the truth, and we all need to participate in the molding of our collective future. If we do not act, regret will be the least of emotions we feel if A.I. remains unmitigated.
The Public Commentary resonates with me; Dean Phillips and Maggie Hassan have expressed their disapproval of an attempted voter suppression tactic, which undermines democracy. Democracy is the fabric of American society that must continuously be defended.
The Questions:
Q1: What are ways that A.I. - generated misinformation can be curtailed from election?
The Endnotes:
1 Alex Seitz and Mike Memoli, “Fake Joe Biden robocall tells New Hampshire Democrats not to vote Tuesday”, NBC News , accessed Jan 28, 2024,