LANSING – Voters Not Politicians, the state’s leading grassroots pro-democracy organization, today released a political ad emphasizing the need to regulate AI technology in politics by creating their own deepfake video depicting three former Michigan governors appearing to endorse policies antithetical to their political views, including cheering on Ohio State’s football.
This video comes as the House Elections Committee is set to hold hearings today on proposed bills that would require disclaimers in political advertisements. Last week, Rep. Tsernoglou (D – East Lansing) and Rep. Bierlein (R – Vassar) introduced House Bills 5141-5145, which would require a disclaimer on political advertisements that contain audio, images, or videos that were generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI), and create penalties for trying to use deepfakes, to deceive and influence voters close to an election.
The ad released today by Voters Not Politicians is a perfect example of the danger this AI technology poses to Michigan voters.
“Our goal in releasing this ad is really to shock lawmakers and the public with the reality of what this technology is already capable of doing,” said Kim Murphy-Kovalick, Voters Not Politicians Programs Director. “This video very clearly shows former Gov. Snyder supporting collective bargaining agreements, former Gov. Engler calling for higher taxes, and former Gov. Granholm calling green energy ‘a fad.’ AI technology used in this way poses a threat that will make it nearly impossible for voters to understand what is real and what is doctored. It’s imperative that our legislature enacts safeguards to counter this deception before it becomes widespread.”
Murphy-Kovalick stated that she expects to see strong bipartisan support for the bills. “This legislation will protect Michigan elections and all voters from unscrupulous actors who would use technology to deceive people. We see no reason why each and every lawmaker wouldn’t support this nonpartisan, pro-democracy election reform.”
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