The technological progress of AI has led to the fact that AI is being applied in a way that becomes an ethical issue when AI is used in election filters as the source of election impact is touched upon.
Microsoft’s warning and assessment
Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Unit, in a report, pointed out that China is possibly a country posing the biggest threat of being behind the state-sponsored hacking groups in the period of 2024 elections, and the election system penetration is likely to be the path that North Korean involvement could use to access the systems of state electoral agencies. However, this warning followed after China used AI in the Taiwan presidential election to impact the election results.
The development and implementation of the plan also made use of AI technology since some of the AI-generated content, like fake audio endorsements, memes, etc., was making some candidates look bad or influencing voters in a given manner. The United States has also attempted to use China in its politics. According to the report, Chinese groups had been running similar disinformation campaigns against certain voting populations but were posting partisan material at the same time. On the contrary, studies on this subject can’t give enough evidence to back up their idea that such a massive change in public opinion has been caused.
Leading up to the 2024 New Hampshire Democratic primaries, an AI-generated voice message masquerading as President Joe Biden’s voice implores potential voters not to participate in the election. Although it is argued that the case does not relate to China and is meant to show a risk to democracy posed by AI, the case reveals the potential threat to democratic rules posed by AI.
Implications for India’s elections
Similar to the United States, which will have presidential elections starting on April 19, AI interference is said to be a threat to the election in India. This clearly reveals the fact that, with an increase in the number of cyber-attacks, there is an urgent call to strengthen the precautionary measures for the sanctity of the Indian elections against cyber-attacks. This whole process has seven stages, therefore, the concern with the AI’s role in interfering with the voting process does seem justified from the 19th of April till the 1st of June.
India, the largest democracy in the world, faces various challenges in preserving the consistency of its electoral system against intrusion from other sources. This AI-generated content may manipulate the perceptions of the voters and thus have the audiences ironically lose faith in the elections because it ignores the legitimacy of a democratic process.
One of the key aspects of the global trend of mass elections is the danger that artificial intelligence-generated content creates. Governments, technology providers, and human rights organizations should deal with this matter at the highest level. A synchronized effort is needed to frame a severe initiative that would instantly find and snuff out the spread of such fakes. The absolute priority of the forthcoming Indian elections, therefore, should be providing a fair, honest, and transparent process. The basic elements should basically ensure security from AI manipulations and the educative, literacy, digital campaigns, and voter awareness efforts to preserve democracy in the digital era.
It is a serious threat, even the possibility of bringing down the pillar of democracy and integrity in the electioneering process. With such continuous surveillance of the networks and a proactive posture by the stakeholders, it develops actors’ collaboration for preventing the damage the spreading of false content can cause to the idea of a good democracy.
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