UNM expert weighs in on AI & the impact is could have on the 2024 election

Artificial Intelligence has crept into our society in nearly every aspect of how we work or play, so it's no surprise experts say AI is already playing a role in the 2024 election.

Political Science Associate Professor Jessica Feezell at The University of New Mexico believes AI will have a bigger impact on this election than ever before.

"We see AI playing a huge role in communication we have via email, in the writing we produce, the way we structure our schedules, from a basic sitting at a desk standpoint," she said. "There is absolutely no reason for us to think that people won't leverage the power of computers and AIto develop content that benefits their causes and purposes."

According to the U.S. Department of State, Artificial Intelligence is a machine-based system that can make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments for a given set of human-defined objects.

"One of the most concerning elements of AI is the ability ofpeople to nefariously create information that looks to be true but is not," Feezell said. "For example, to create pictures, change images, to make them seem original but they're modified, to create text, to fabricate stories, to do all of this without any open transparent statements or requirements to identify it asfalse or generated by artificial intelligence."

According to Fezzell, AI is already playing a role in this year's election. In mid-August, Vice President Kamala Harris held a large rally in Detroit, Michigan. However, the Trump campaign falsely claimed the images from the rally were produced by Artificial intelligence to make it seem like the crowd was bigger.

"If you combine false stories, against Harris or Trump, with our very personal social networks that are now supercharged with social network capabilities, then that information has a much bigger life and longevity," Feezell said.

So how do you spot artificial intelligence? Feezell says there's no easy answer to that question but there are a few things to help identify what's real or fake. First, she says to read from a variety of sources such as looking at the same content but on politicallydifferent news outlets like FOX or CNN. Also, pay close attention to the dates the stories were published and their URL. Next, she recommends using a fact-checking source like factcheck.comor doing a reverse image search to see where the picture came from. "Think about the source of the information you're consuming, especially if it feels good because that's when our guards are down," she said.

Feezell says a concerning problem is the fact that regulation of this advanced technology is very slow to roll out.

"Suchregulation would come from Congress, a large body of people representing very diverse constituencies, and this is a very high-tech space that a lot of those representatives don't have fluency in," she said. "Relying on Congress to proactively get ahead of machine-basedlarge language models like artificial intelligence and put effective regulations in place is sadly unrealistic."

Feezell believes this technology, if put in the wrong hands, could potentially move or swing an election. "If people look at misinformation or disinformation campaigns and believe it and run with it in an election, it could have an impact. I think everything matters in close elections," she said.

Fezzell encourages others to listen to or read content that makes them uncomfortable politically to expand their viewpoint.

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