Republicans are giving those skeptical over the rapid uptake of artificial intelligence tools reason to be concerned.
That’s because conservatives have yet again produced a political ad incorporating artificial intelligence to stoke fears in voters ahead of the 2024 elections. A new ad released by the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans, claims Democrats want national parks to be “overrun with illegal immigrants.” The ad features images created with the help of AI to depict parks with tents scattered throughout.
It’s anti-immigrant bigotry with a technological flair.
Unlike previous AI-infused ads deployed by Republicans this year —which, to be clear, were also disturbing in various ways — the latest ad looks slightly less realistic. Yet, it still shows the extent to which conservatives are willing, even eager, to deploy emerging technology to stoke fear and fury in voters ahead of next year’s election. This, my friends, speaks to why I’ve been sounding the alarm on the need for public awareness about the harmful ways in which AI tools can be used.
Unfortunately, the feds have been quite slow to address this issue.
Thankfully, I’ve been joined in my concerns by AI ethicists such as Albert Fox Cahn, Joy Buolamwini, Timnit Gebru and others, who’ve all warned about nefarious uses of AI we’ve seen popping up across the country and the world.
The GOP’s ad also speaks to a post I published last year, touting Vice President Kamala Harris’ emphasis on ensuring that emerging technology is accessible and understood by the masses. Because, as we can see, the potential for misuse is very high. And rising.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.