Can Artificial Intelligence Interfere with Elections?

The headlines are enough to rattle anyone.

“Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society,’” the New York Times announces. An Express Tribune top story stated, “42 CEOs think AI (Artificial Intelligence) might destroy humanity this decade.” The question posed at The Atlantic reads, “Is AI a Threat to Christianity?”

For better or worse, it seems that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a freight train that has already left the station, barreling down the tracks.

One of the latest Artificial Intelligence developments to catch widespread attention has been ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT can interact with a user by responding to questions and replying to prompts. While some of the responses are amusing or simply wrong, the results are frequently astonishing, providing surprisingly coherent and cogent responses to a wide variety of prompts including composing poems, stories, sermons, and essays.

The results have been so remarkable it has led to speculations that the college essay is dead, about the future of many skilled jobs, and about nefarious ways this new technology could be deployed.

Could artificial intelligence be used to interfere with elections?

We wondered. So, we asked an expert. We asked ChatGPT to confess to the ways it could be used to manipulate election results.

This was its revealing and deeply troubling answer:

Chat GPT: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to interfere with elections in several ways. Here are some scenarios:

1. Disinformation campaigns: AI can be used to create and spread large-scale disinformation campaigns. AI algorithms can generate convincing fake news articles, social media posts, and deepfake videos, which can be used to manipulate public opinion and sway voters.

2. Social media manipulation: AI-powered bots and algorithms can be deployed to amplify certain political messages, spread propaganda, and manipulate social media trends. These tactics can create an illusion of public support for a particular candidate or agenda, influencing voters' perceptions.

3. Targeted micro-targeting: AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data, including personal information and online behavior, to create highly targeted and tailored political messages. This enables campaigns to micro-target specific voter groups with personalized content, potentially influencing their decisions.

4. Voter suppression: AI can be used to identify and target vulnerable voter groups with misleading information. By spreading false information about polling locations, voting procedures, or eligibility requirements, AI can discourage or confuse certain segments of the population, leading to reduced voter turnout.

5. Hacking and tampering: AI-powered tools can be used to launch sophisticated cyberattacks against electoral systems, including voter registration databases, electronic voting machines, and result tabulation systems. These attacks can disrupt the voting process, manipulate voter data, or even alter vote counts.

6. Opinion manipulation: AI can analyze and understand vast amounts of social media data, allowing it to identify key influencers and opinion leaders. By targeting these individuals with tailored messages, AI can attempt to sway public opinion and influence voter behavior.

It's important to note that while AI can be leveraged for these purposes, it is humans who design and deploy AI systems for specific objectives. Detecting and countering AI-driven interference requires a combination of technological solutions, robust cybersecurity measures, media literacy, and public awareness. Governments, technology companies, and society need to work together to address these challenges and safeguard the integrity of democratic processes.

That won’t be easy. AI manipulations can be subtle, convincing, and difficult to discern. As Charles Spurgeon rightly noted, “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” 

So, we may need some help discerning AI interference. Fortunately, a problem can be a solution. Fire can fight fire.

If Artificial Intelligence will volunteer the ways it could interfere with elections, we thought it might also reveal the ways it could be stopped. So, we asked a follow-up question: “How can humans defend against AI-driven election interference?”

Here was its reply.

Chat GPT: Defending against artificial intelligence (AI)-driven election interference requires a multi-faceted approach involving various stakeholders. Here are some strategies that can be employed to mitigate AI-driven interference:

1. Education and media literacy: Promote media literacy programs to educate citizens about recognizing and critically evaluating disinformation, fake news, and manipulated content. By empowering individuals to identify misleading information, they can make more informed decisions.

2. Enhanced cybersecurity: Strengthen the cybersecurity measures of electoral systems, including voter registration databases, voting machines, and result tabulation systems. Regular security audits, encryption, two-factor authentication, and robust firewalls can help protect against hacking attempts and tampering.

3. AI detection and flagging: Develop AI-powered tools and algorithms to detect and flag suspicious activities and disinformation campaigns. These systems can analyze patterns, identify bots, recognize deepfake content, and alert human moderators to take appropriate action.

4. Transparency and accountability: Promote transparency in political advertising by requiring disclosure of funding sources and sponsors. Establish regulations that ensure political campaigns and organizations are accountable for their online activities, including the use of AI-powered tools.

5. Collaboration with technology companies: Foster collaboration between governments, election officials, and technology companies to address AI-driven interference. Companies like social media platforms, search engines, and tech giants can develop AI algorithms and tools to detect and mitigate disinformation and manipulation on their platforms.

6. International cooperation: Encourage international cooperation and information sharing among countries to address cross-border AI-driven election interference. Collaborative efforts can involve sharing best practices, intelligence, and coordinating responses to emerging threats.

7. Ethical AI development: Encourage the development and adoption of ethical AI practices and guidelines. AI technologies should be designed and implemented with principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability in mind, minimizing their potential for misuse.

8. Independent fact-checking organizations: Support independent fact-checking organizations that can analyze and debunk false information circulating during elections. These organizations play a crucial role in providing accurate and reliable information to the public.

9. Public awareness campaigns: Launch public awareness campaigns to educate voters about AI-driven interference tactics and their potential impact on elections. This can involve disseminating information through various channels, including social media, traditional media, and educational institutions.

It is important to remember that defending against AI-driven election interference is an ongoing challenge that requires continuous monitoring, adaptation, and collaboration between governments, technology companies, civil society organizations, and citizens themselves.

The threat that unscrupulous actors could use artificial intelligence to interfere with elections is real, significant, and unprecedented. It will require a level of diligence we may not have imagined in our lifetime.

As we tackle these challenging questions, let us remember that God doesn’t call us to be nostalgic for yesteryear, a time when life was simpler. Rather, He has equipped us to move forward with His unchanging Word.

Nothing we face today surprises the Lord or catches him off guard. He is the maker and sustainer of all things, including humanity as his unique image-bearers (and the technologies that we create).

We can move forward with confidence in addressing any challenge before us as we hold fast to these fundamental truths.

It will require all of us to pray unceasingly, think biblically about the issues at hand, and act consistently to ensure the influence of our faith is accurately maintained in the voting booth.

Learn about candidates, see your ballot, and get election reminders so you never miss. Get your FREE My Voter Hub account, My Faith Votes’ online election resource that equips you to vote intelligently in every election. Visit: www.myfaithvotes.org/myvoterhub to get started today!

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My Faith Votes—is a nonpartisan movement that motivates, equips and activates Christians in America to vote in every election, transforming our communities and influencing our nation with biblical truth. By partnering with national faith leaders, My Faith Votes provides resources to help Christians Pray, Think, and Act to create an America where God is honored in the public square.

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