What would happen if a commercial showed candidates saying something they never said— or never would say?
An AI voice demonstrating how easy it can be. "With artificial intelligence, almost anything is possible," the voice says.
"I'm worried about people using it in a negative context to try to portray a candidate saying or doing something they never did," says real-life Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell.
Surovell has a bill that would require campaigns disclose when they are using AI-generated audio or video.
"Artificial intelligence has really progressed in the last ten years to the point where you can't distinguish between what's a real speech or a real video of a candidate and what's been generated by a computer. And I think if somebody's going to use something that's computer generated, there ought to be a disclaimer on it so that voters know that what they are watching never happened or what they are listening to never occurred," Surovell argues.
He says his bill does not prohibit the use of AI. It just requires disclosure— a requirement that will be debated when members of the General Assembly gavel into session later this month.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
