Artificial Intelligence and the 2024 Election: Suggestions for Election Officials
The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence will pose a challenge for election officials in 2024. Because AI can generate realistic video, audio, and images, it may be used to deceive voters and election officials. AI also makes it easier for bad actors to attempt phishing and other cybersecurity attacks.
Deception, disinformation, and cyberattacks are not new threats for election officials, but generative AI “may amplify existing risks to election infrastructure,” as U.S. cybersecurity officials have warned.
Election officials can take steps, both now and during the election period, to shore up their defenses against AI threats, as well as to educate and empower voters. Here’s a guide.
To protect their own offices and infrastructure, election officials can:
- Train staff on the capabilities of generative AI and how it can be used by bad actors. Detecting what’s artificially created is increasingly difficult. So it’s important to understand what these new tools can produce, such as deepfakes and voice cloning, and how they can be used to deceive both voters and government officials. There are several useful primers already available that can be used for background and training.
- Bolster cybersecurity defenses. Tactics such as phishing and denial-of-service attacks are becoming more sophisticated. Election officials can strengthen internal protections for sensitive information and build in safeguards against AI-enabled impersonation. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has detailed suggestions in this guide.
- Prepare for high-volume, AI-fueled records requests. Since 2020, conspiracy theorists have bombarded election officials with records requests, leaving those officials less time for their administrative duties. Election officials can post some information proactively, and they can use authentication tools to screen out bots. The Brennan Center for Justice has more in this resource.
- Consider authentication procedures for official materials. Digital signatures on official images and video can establish authenticity and protect against manipulation by bad actors.
- Know what the law says. Election officials should understand what legal tools are available to address harmful uses of AI in the context of elections. Attorneys general and their local counterparts can be helpful partners in protecting voters and election infrastructure.
To communicate with and empower voters, election officials can:
- Strengthen public confidence in trusted sources of information about elections. Promote official state and local websites and official social media accounts as sources of timely, accurate information.
- Help voters understand election processes and how elections are secured. Equipping voters with reliable information about how elections work builds awareness and trust. High-profile requests for election volunteers can also empower voters and build transparency.
- Amplify truthful information about elections. Remember that amplifying mis- and disinformation, even for the purpose of refuting it, may do more harm than good.
- Strengthen relationships with the media. Educate reporters on the possible malicious uses of AI in elections and provide them with source material on election rules, procedures, and systems so they are prepared to quickly fact-check claims.
- Warn the public ahead of time that they may encounter AI-fueled disinformation. Prepare and empower voters by helping them understand how deceptive scams may look and sound. Advise them to slow down and double-check what they see and read. Remind them where to find trusted sources of election information.