reader Posted February 16 Posted February 16 NOTE — Is the dismissive attitudes expressed by the political parties a harbinger of what we can expect in elections elsewhere? From Thai PBS World The use of AI deep-fakes in Indonesia, during the run-up to this year’s elections, is ringing alarm bells among advocates for information integrity, as they are being used for political gain. As the world watches the country’s fifth direct presidential elections, since the end of the Suharto era in 1998, it is worth taking a look at the struggle to address the downsides of this rapidly developing technology. Over the past six months, the local and international media have dubbed this the “AI election” and are reporting the mixed concerns and responses of multiple stakeholders to the increasing and controversial use of generative AI by political parties in their campaigns. A number of AI-generated audio and video clips have surfaced and gone viral on social media between October 2023 and January this year, mainly targeting presidential candidates. One was an AI-generated clip resurrecting the late President Suharto, apparently asking voters to support presidential frontrunner and current Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, behind whom the Golkar party, founded by Suharto, is throwing its support. Others include Prabowo’s “warm and cuddly” personality makeovers, in an attempt to soften his stern image in his neo-nationalist Gerindra party’s political campaigns. Following a public outcry, both campaign teams defended the two AI-generated makeovers as being harmless and for not attacking other candidates, which is an offense under the country’s 2017 elections law. Continues at https://www.thaipbsworld.com/indonesia-csos-fight-deep-fake-elections/ vinapu 1 Quote
