FCC boss wants political ads to admit when they were made using AI
(2024/05/23)
- Reference: 1716417253
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/05/22/fcc_ai_political_ads/
- Source link:
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal that would require US political ads to disclose their usage of AI technology.
The rule was suggested by the American watchdog's boss Jessica Rosenworcel and, if enacted, would create a more transparent political environment for citizens in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential, Congressional, and gubernatorial elections.
"As artificial intelligence tools become more accessible, the commission wants to make sure consumers are fully informed when the technology is used," Rosenworcel said in a [1]statement [PDF]. "Today, I've shared with my colleagues a proposal that makes clear consumers have a right to know when AI tools are being used in the political ads they see, and I hope they swiftly act on this issue."
[2]
The agency argues AI output will form a significant component of political advertising this year, which runs the risk of them spreading false information and aiding the dissemination of deep fakes, made unintentionally or otherwise.
[3]
[4]
The concerns echo those of former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said in March that [5]AI will be problematic for elections around the world.
Similarly, Microsoft says [6]even simple deep fakes can be effective when it comes to influencing elections, and that [7]China is making full use of AI to rile US residents on social media.
[8]
Picture realistic-looking machine-made videos of people saying things they never actually said. Yes, media manipulation by humans, let alone AI, has always been a thing, though one can argue neural networks can massively increase the volume of that output, and realism, as well as mess it up. Making campaigns declare the use of the technology isn't perhaps a bad idea, presuming there's some kind of punishment for not doing so.
[9]FCC names and shames Royal Tiger AI robocall crew
[10]FCC slams banhammer on 5G fast lanes with final net neutrality text
[11]Meta to build election operations center in Europe to inspect AI content
[12]China unleashes fearsome new cyber-weapon: A very provocative meme
The FCC specifically pointed out that the intention of the proposal is not to ban AI-generated campaign ads outright and that the sole aim is to require disclosure from ad creators whenever AI is used.
Although Rosenworcel speaks as if she doesn't know whether the proposal would receive the support of other FCC board members, we can probably assume it has enough support to be adopted. Of the other four members, two are fellow Democrats, and it seems unlikely that the chair would suggest a new rule that didn't have a chance of going through.
As for the regulation's effectiveness, it's hard to predict its impact overall given it doesn't cover the internet, which is a key vector for AI-generated political content. TV and radio ads are still important in the US, depending on the target demographics, though don't discount campaigning efforts via social media and ads on streaming platforms. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-402740A1.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zk6-bY6HzKoFdNEa13GPFQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zk6-bY6HzKoFdNEa13GPFQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zk6-bY6HzKoFdNEa13GPFQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/29/hillary_clinton_election_ai/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/02/microsoft_election_ai_fakes%20/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/05/china_ai_election_interference/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zk6-bY6HzKoFdNEa13GPFQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/fcc_royal_tiger_robocalls/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/09/fcc_slams_banhammer_on_5g/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/meta_telection_infotrmation_ai/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/03/china_australia_meme_incident/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The rule was suggested by the American watchdog's boss Jessica Rosenworcel and, if enacted, would create a more transparent political environment for citizens in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential, Congressional, and gubernatorial elections.
"As artificial intelligence tools become more accessible, the commission wants to make sure consumers are fully informed when the technology is used," Rosenworcel said in a [1]statement [PDF]. "Today, I've shared with my colleagues a proposal that makes clear consumers have a right to know when AI tools are being used in the political ads they see, and I hope they swiftly act on this issue."
[2]
The agency argues AI output will form a significant component of political advertising this year, which runs the risk of them spreading false information and aiding the dissemination of deep fakes, made unintentionally or otherwise.
[3]
[4]
The concerns echo those of former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said in March that [5]AI will be problematic for elections around the world.
Similarly, Microsoft says [6]even simple deep fakes can be effective when it comes to influencing elections, and that [7]China is making full use of AI to rile US residents on social media.
[8]
Picture realistic-looking machine-made videos of people saying things they never actually said. Yes, media manipulation by humans, let alone AI, has always been a thing, though one can argue neural networks can massively increase the volume of that output, and realism, as well as mess it up. Making campaigns declare the use of the technology isn't perhaps a bad idea, presuming there's some kind of punishment for not doing so.
[9]FCC names and shames Royal Tiger AI robocall crew
[10]FCC slams banhammer on 5G fast lanes with final net neutrality text
[11]Meta to build election operations center in Europe to inspect AI content
[12]China unleashes fearsome new cyber-weapon: A very provocative meme
The FCC specifically pointed out that the intention of the proposal is not to ban AI-generated campaign ads outright and that the sole aim is to require disclosure from ad creators whenever AI is used.
Although Rosenworcel speaks as if she doesn't know whether the proposal would receive the support of other FCC board members, we can probably assume it has enough support to be adopted. Of the other four members, two are fellow Democrats, and it seems unlikely that the chair would suggest a new rule that didn't have a chance of going through.
As for the regulation's effectiveness, it's hard to predict its impact overall given it doesn't cover the internet, which is a key vector for AI-generated political content. TV and radio ads are still important in the US, depending on the target demographics, though don't discount campaigning efforts via social media and ads on streaming platforms. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-402740A1.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zk6-bY6HzKoFdNEa13GPFQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zk6-bY6HzKoFdNEa13GPFQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zk6-bY6HzKoFdNEa13GPFQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/29/hillary_clinton_election_ai/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/02/microsoft_election_ai_fakes%20/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/05/china_ai_election_interference/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zk6-bY6HzKoFdNEa13GPFQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/fcc_royal_tiger_robocalls/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/09/fcc_slams_banhammer_on_5g/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/meta_telection_infotrmation_ai/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/03/china_australia_meme_incident/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Alternate answer:
jake
Ads? What are these things you call "ads"?
alisonken1
I point you to Robert Heinlein's "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" for some light entertainment and AI.
Easier answer.
"How about just flag up the adverts not using machine learning"
How about just banning all political ads completely. There would be no loss of signal; they are all lies anyway, and a waste of bandwidth.