WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 – Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on Wednesday called for bipartisan legislation to limit the misuse of artificial intelligence in upcoming elections.
Although Election Day is more than a year away, Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar said, “I would emphasize the election is upon us. These things are happening now.”
As the reach of the transformative technology expands, senators from both sides of the aisle grappled with how to curtail the damage of AI to elections while protecting freedom of speech. They shared concerns over how AI-generated content has and can be used to blur the lines between what is real and what is not.
Committee members cited examples of the technology being used to misrepresent both elected officials and candidates earlier this year. A deep fake video of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. spread online and Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign created AI-generated photos of former President Trump.
“The risk of AI on our elections is not just an issue for Democrats, nor just Republicans. Every one of us will be impacted,” committee member Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.
Trevor Potter, a former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission, testified that if Congress does not step in, AI will strengthen the mistrust of voters in the democratic electoral process.
“If left unregulated, AI could make it so common to see the false depicted as true that the public, and, in particular, voters, will be unable to know whether what they are seeing or hearing is real,” said Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon also warned that AI was increasing voters’ mistrust of elections. He used the phrase, “liar’s dividend,” a term coined by the Brennan Center for Justice. This means that even the “mere existence of generative AI creates an atmosphere of mistrust” and increases the likelihood that voters will perceive authentic information as false.
Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation designed to put up “guardrails to protect our elections” by banning the use of materially deceptive AI-generated content. The sponsors included Klobuchar, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. Klobuchar underscored the need to move quickly to pass the legislation “as soon as possible,” because of the upcoming elections.
Senator Fischer, R-Neb., urged the Congress “to strike a careful balance between protecting the public, protecting innovation, and protecting speech.”