Election 2024 and Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Responsibilities for AI Startups in a Crucial Year

At LFM, an advanced marketing, retail, events and business intelligence agency, we have been dealing for some time now, more and more, with how artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly integral part of our lives. We have worked to integrate AI into our services and we feel the need to always stay updated on the impact of this extraordinary technology on all of our lives. In our blog today we talk once again about AI and its impact in 2024, on a crucial aspect, the influence in elections.

2024 is shaping up to be a pivotal year globally, with elections scheduled in around 64 countries , representing nearly 49% of the world’s population . This scenario poses significant challenges for artificial intelligence (AI) startups, especially given the potential implications of their technologies in the electoral process. After scandals such as Cambridge Analytica, the use of large language models (LLMs) and the ability to create high-quality deep fakes raise concerns about the influence AI could have on the electorate.

Challenges for AI Startups During Elections

In 2024, with elections in many countries, the influence of AI on the electorate emerges as a major concern. AI startups, armed with powerful language models like LLMs, face the task of navigating this sensitive area without compromising the integrity of electoral processes. Let’s look at some of the risks that could be there.

1. AI-Powered Political Manipulation

The ability of LLMs to generate realistic and convincing content opens the door to new forms of political manipulation . These models can produce speeches, articles, or social media posts that closely mimic the tone and style of real people, making it difficult for voters to distinguish between what is authentic and what is artificially generated.

Imagine, for example,  an election situation where one of the candidates secretly uses an LLM to produce a series of articles and social media posts praising his policies or vilifying his opponent. This subtle but effective manipulation can alter public perception without voters being aware of it, and AI would serve as an engine for the hands of skilled puppeteers. 

2. Risk of Disinformation and Polarization

Advanced language models can be used to spread disinformation, exacerbating polarization and unduly influencing public opinion. The dissemination of false news or misleading content through credible channels can have a significant impact on the outcome of elections.

Creating fake news that misrepresents a campaign event or distorts a candidate’s political position can create confusion and discord among voters, distorting the democratic process.

3. The challenge of Ethics and Transparency

In the context of the global elections of 2024, AI startups face the crucial challenge of maintaining high ethical and transparency standards. This commitment is vital not only to preserve their reputation and trustworthiness, but also to safeguard the integrity of democratic processes.

AI startups must therefore adopt a clear code of ethics regarding the use of their technologies in political contexts. This includes the responsibility to ensure that their products are not used to spread disinformation , manipulate public opinion, or unduly interfere in electoral processes.

A startup could implement internal control and review mechanisms to monitor how its language models are used by customers, especially during election periods, to prevent unethical use.

In general, AI startups should promote transparency in content generation, ensuring that the AI ​​origin of the content produced by their models is clear. This would help maintain a level of trust among the public and prevent misuse of their products for deceptive purposes. For example, digital watermarks or other forms of identification could be introduced that clearly indicate when a text or image has been generated by an AI.

The real problem is that even with watermarks, most companies today like  Midjourney , Google DeepMind , and OpenAI are unable to prevent fakes. 

Open dialogue and collaboration with regulators and democratic institutions is certainly an essential aspect that needs to be continued. This helps ensure that new technologies are used responsibly and in line with electoral laws and regulations.

Finally, AI startups certainly have a duty to educate and raise awareness about the use of AI in politics . This includes providing clear information about the limitations and capabilities of their AI models and the measures they take to ensure ethical use. Implementing awareness programs that illustrate how to recognize AI-generated content could be one solution that helps the public understand the potential impact of AI on electoral processes.

Open AI and Transparency Policies

In the context of the 2024 global elections, OpenAI’s usage policies are of crucial importance. These policies are designed to balance technological innovation with social responsibility , in particular to prevent the misuse of AI in political scenarios. OPEN AI recently shared clear positions on its blog, which we report here as follows:

“We regularly review our Terms of Use for ChatGPT and the API as we learn more about how people are using or attempting to abuse our technology. A few points to highlight in relation to the election:

• We are still working to understand how effective our personalized persuasion tools can be. Until we know more, we do not allow people to develop applications for political campaigning and lobbying.

• People want to know and trust that they are interacting with a real person, company, or government. For this reason, we do not allow creators to develop chatbots that impersonate real people (e.g., candidates) or institutions (e.g., local governments).

• We do not allow applications that discourage people from participating in democratic processes – for example, by misrepresenting voting processes and qualifications (e.g., when, where, or who is eligible to vote) or that discourage voting (e.g., by claiming that voting is futile).

• With our new GPTs, users can report potential violations to us.”

With these statements Open AI actually carries forward 4 key pillars:

1. Ban on Use in Political Campaigns : OpenAI explicitly prohibits the use of its models to create applications for political campaigning and lobbying. This limits the use of AI for personalized persuasion, an important step in preventing election manipulation.

2. Authenticity and Transparency : Politics emphasizes the importance of authenticity in interactions. OpenAI prohibits the creation of chatbots that impersonate real people (e.g., political candidates) or institutions (e.g., local governments), thus promoting transparency and trust in interacting with AI.

3. Protecting Democratic Processes : OpenAI places restrictions on applications that may deter participation in democratic processes. This includes spreading false or misleading information about voting procedures or making claims that discourage voter participation.

4. Reporting Violations : With the introduction of new GPT models, OpenAI encourages users to report potential violations of their policies, fostering an environment of collaboration and accountability.