The latest from Darrell M. West (@darrwest ), a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (@brookingsinst ), in the Superintelligent newsletter:
Texas voters might have come across a video last month of Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico reading controversial tweets that he posted over the past decade. “So true,” he said of his own comments. “I love this one, too,” he said at another point.
The video clearly was not real. It was an ad created by the National Republican Senatorial Committee meant to highlight “extreme statements praising transgenderism, twisting Christian beliefs, and advocating for open borders.” The rendition includes a label noting that it was generated with artificial intelligence and begins with a narrator describing the video as a “dramatic reading” of the candidate’s comments.
But voters should be aware of the coming onslaught of similar ads that will likely go much further in falsifying candidate statements, manufacturing persuasive fake videos and putting campaigners in embarrassing situations that did not actually take place. Deepfakes have advanced to the point where even experts cannot easily discern true from false. The prior deficiencies of AI-generated content, such as hands with extra fingers or fake heads put on actual bodies, have given way to sleek videos and pictures that are completely believable.
What are voters to do in this new world?
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Jim Morone gets excited discussing health care in DC with Sen Richard Blumenthal and David Blumenthal at Politics and Prose! Get Whiplash at your bookstore!!
A calico cat explains what the world might look like without the electoral college.
(The cat is actually Darrell M. West @darrwest , a senior fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution think tank and a co-editor-in-chief of TechTank. His current research focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics, and the future of work. He was the John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Brown University. His most recent book is “Lies That Kill: A Citizen’s Guide to Disinformation” (Brookings Press, 2024 with co-author Elaine Kamarck).
Stream Très Mall Episode 8 by @derek__larson on DIS 🔗 in bio!
