Adversaries could use AI to spread disinformation about US elections: the FBI
An incident in the US involved robocalls posing as President Joe Biden urging New Hampshire voters to abstain from voting in the January primaries | Photo: Bloomberg
The FBI is concerned that foreign adversaries could use artificial intelligence as a tool to meddle in U.S. elections and spread disinformation, a senior official said Thursday, describing the technology as an area likely to see growth in the coming years.
The threat is more than theoretical, given the prevalence of AI deepfakes and robocalls and the way such technology has already emerged in politics.
The official reported an episode in Slovakia early this year in which audio clips resembling the voice of the Liberal Party leader allegedly caught him talking about rising beer prices and rigging the vote just days before parliamentary elections were shared widely on social media. The clips were deepfakes.
One incident in the US involved robocalls impersonating President Joe Biden urging New Hampshire voters to abstain from voting in January’s primaries. The robocalls were later traced to a political consultant who said he was trying to raise awareness of the dangers of AI deepfakes.
AI technology is a challenge for law enforcement not only because it lowers the barrier to entry for people looking to make mischief, but also because it adds to the arsenal of more sophisticated foreign governments looking to meddle in elections, the official said , which was one. from several FBI officials to brief reporters on the topic of election security on the condition of anonymity per basic FBI rules.
The three countries of most concern to the FBI in the current election year are Russia, Iran and China. Officials have in the past attributed different motives and ambitions to the countries in terms of what they hope to achieve by influencing US elections.
In the case of Russia, intelligence officials said in 2016 and 2020 that Moscow had a clear preference for Republican Donald Trump and took steps to get him elected, including a sophisticated hack-and-leak operation of Democratic emails before he was elected for eight years. past.
A recent intelligence community report assessed that Russia attempted to denigrate the Democratic Party in the 2022 midterm elections, aiming to weaken U.S. support for Ukraine and undermine confidence in the elections.
According to the report, China sought to influence a handful of races with candidates from both major political parties, focusing on those with anti-China views and covertly disparaging a U.S. senator. And it said Iran was conducting covert operations aimed at exploiting perceived social divisions.
In 2024, FBI officials said, China will likely continue its efforts to sow division, and the FBI is watching whether the war in Ukraine will motivate Russia’s behavior.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: May 10, 2024 | 7:32 am IST