tampa, florida – Artificial intelligence is changing the landscape of politics, so much so that the Florida Legislature on Friday passed a bill to ensure voters know when artificial intelligence is used in political ads.
“Members of the Senate, this is historic legislation. We are finally tackling AI in this presidential election cycle. This is a big issue,” said Pinellas Republican, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate. said state Sen. Nick DeCegree of the county.
The Florida Legislature has given final approval to a bill that would require disclaimers on political ads that use artificial intelligence.
“You don’t have to go too far to understand the technology of artificial intelligence and what it can do, especially how it affects elections. Someone is doing something, something How can you portray someone as actually being where they are when they are saying the same thing? ” said Deselier.
Misinformation is a concern in politics, and political analyst Susan McManus said voters were already wary of AI.
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“When you ask about things specifically related to campaign ads, this is a poll done four or five months ago, and at that point, well over a third of people already said they weren’t going to believe any ads. They said no,” said McManus, a professor emeritus at the University of South Florida.
The ad disclaimer must say “Created in whole or in part using generative artificial intelligence” and covers audio, video, images, text, or graphics .
“What I think about this is that it’s both exciting and scary at the same time,” said Abdallah Musmar, a teaching assistant professor in USF’s Muma College of Business. “If you want to think creatively, you can use AI to customize your campaigns to the audience you want to watch.”
But Musumaru said the disclaimer is a good start, knowing that AI can also be used to deceive.
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“Right now, if you create content from chatGPT and view human-written content, it will be very difficult to tell the difference. We’re not even talking about video-generated content yet,” Musmar says Mr. .
Political experts said it all comes down to trust between voters and candidates.
“If people don’t have trust, that certainly affects turnout,” McManus said. “It could affect support for candidates who may have won voters’ votes. The stakes are very high.”
The bill would require those paying for, sponsoring, or approving advertising to include disclaimers when AI is used, or face civil penalties or criminal penalties. Punishment will be imposed. The Florida Board of Elections will be in charge of enforcing the new rules.
The bill is currently awaiting Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature into law.
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