Bipartisan Group of State Lawmakers Circulating Bill Requiring Political Candidates to Tell if They Use AI in Political Ads

Wednesday, November 1st, 2023 -- 2:01 PM

(By Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Public Radio) A bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers is circulating a bill that would require candidates and political groups to tell the public when they use artificial intelligence to generate audio or video in their ads.

According to Anya van Wagtendonk with Wisconsin Public Radio, the legislation resembles proposals in other states and at the federal level. It comes as some political experts say the 2024 election cycle may be marked by AI-generated content and influence campaigns.

As proposed, the bill would require any audio or video campaign materials, whether produced by a candidate, PAC or other campaign entity, to disclose at the start and end of an ad if they used "synthetic media," or media that is "substantially produced by means of generative artificial intelligence."

Violators of the rule would be subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for each violation. "We're not looking at this to score political points," said Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, a co-author of the bill.

"But we're looking at this to help maintain the integrity in our election system and make sure that what people see and hear when it relates to elections is real and verifiable."

Neylon is planning to introduce the plan alongside Sens. Romaine Quinn, R-Cameron, and Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, and Rep. Clinton Anderson, D-Beloit. The bill is currently being circulated for co-sponsorship at the state Capitol.

Cheap and straightforward AI generators have proliferated in just a few years, making it easy to create fake videos of things that never happened, or audio of a candidate saying things they didn’t say.

"All you need is somebody who's unscrupulous in politics, can you imagine?" said Ryan Calo, a professor of law and Information Science at the University of Washington.

"So you just need a person who's willing to take totally off-the-shelf, easy-to-use tools, and depict a politician, a candidate, doing or saying something that they never did," Calo said.

For example, a recent online video from the presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used fake images of former President Donald Trump hugging Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who led the national response to COVID-19 and became a demonized figure in some right-wing circles.

Those images were AI-generated. The proliferation of such false images and audio have a two-fold risk, Calo said. AI-generated campaign content makes it easier to spread misinformation about a candidate, and also undermines voters’ general ability to believe their own eyes and ears.

"In addition to allowing you to pretend that something is so that it isn't, and to fool people into believing something through technology, you also have a way to plausibly deny something that actually did happen," he said.

The Wisconsin legislators say their bill is one step toward mitigating the role of artificial intelligence in promoting political misinformation.

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