American pop and country music singer-songwriter Talot Swift announced she is endorsing Vice President Kamla Harris for president. Her move also cited concerns about artificial intelligence-generated misinformation and disinformation in the 2024 election cycle.
Swift publically endorsed Harris on her Instagram and said she is concerned about the technology's ability to spread false information after AI-generated images appeared to show her supporting Republican candidate Donald Trump.
"Recently, I was made aware that AI of 'me' falsely endorsing Donald Trump's presidential run was posted to his site," Swift wrote on Instagram. "It really conjured up my fears around AI and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."
As fears of AI-generated images, like the ones made of Swift, are amplified, experts said AI has the ability to threaten the political landscape.
"Because it's getting better, it truly erodes the public's trust in information, in articles, whether they're online or in social media, and it blurs the line between what is true and what is false," said Jessica Hetrick, vice president of Optiv Federal.
Hetrick said she hopes voters will be able to tell the real messages when they appear.
"We're still not trained to look and question that, and the tech just gets so much better every single day and more realistic looking," she said.
Politics
Swift's endorsement highlights growing concerns among policymakers about AI's potential to disrupt the democratic process. It also underscores the challenges facing technology companies and legislators in regulating the tech.
More than 300,000 people have clicked on Swift's post, which included a link to Vote.org, a site dedicated to registering voters.
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