FCC chairman wants disclosures about artificial intelligence in political ads • Register

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal that would require U.S. political ads to disclose the use of artificial intelligence technology.

The rule was suggested by US regulator Jessica Rosenworcel and, if enacted, would create a more transparent political environment for citizens in the run-up to the 2024 presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections.

“As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly available, the Commission wants to ensure that consumers are fully informed about the use of this technology,” Rosenworcel said in a statement (PDF). “Today I shared a proposal with my colleagues that makes clear that consumers have the right to know when artificial intelligence tools are used in the political ads they see, and I hope they will act quickly on this issue.”

The agency says AI results will be a significant component of political advertising this year, which poses the risk of it spreading false information and aiding the spread of false content, whether done unintentionally or otherwise.

These concerns echo those of former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who in March said artificial intelligence would be problematic in elections around the world.

Similarly, Microsoft claims that even simple deepfakes can be effective in influencing elections, and that China is making full use of artificial intelligence to irritate US residents on social media.

Display realistic-looking, machine-recorded videos of people saying things they never actually said. Yes, media manipulation by humans, let alone AI, has always been a thing, although it could be argued that neural networks can significantly increase the volume and realism of that output, as well as mess it up. Campaigns declaring that using this technology is perhaps not a bad idea, assuming there is some penalty for not doing so.

The FCC has made clear that the intent of the proposal is not to completely ban advertising in AI-generated campaigns, and its sole purpose is to require ad creators to disclose information whenever they use AI.

Although Rosenworcel sounds as if she doesn’t know whether the proposal will have the support of the rest of the FCC board, we can probably assume it has enough support to pass. Of the remaining four members, two are fellow Democrats, and it seems unlikely that the chairman would propose new legislation that had no chance of being adopted.

In terms of the regulation’s effectiveness, it is difficult to predict its overall impact, given that it does not cover the Internet, which is a key vector for AI-generated political content. Television and radio advertising are still important in the U.S., depending on the target demographic, although they do not discount campaign efforts via social media and advertising on streaming platforms. ®