Aspen Digital

Reports from other organizations on the risks that advancements in AI pose to free and fair elections, including some proposed mitigations.

General

AI can strengthen U.S. democracy—and weaken it | Brookings

This report gives a high level overview of the impacts AI good have on US democracy.

– Norman Eisen, Nicol Turner Lee, Colby Galliher, and Jonathan Katz

Preparing to Fight AI-Backed Voter Suppression | BrENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE

This report describes the risk of AI-backed voter suppression, and details some potential solutions.

– Mekela Panditharatne

How Election Officials Can Identify, Prepare for, and Respond to AI Threats | BrENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE

This report offers specific ways in which election officials can prepare for the impacts of AI.

– David Evan Harris, Lawrence Norden, Noah Praetz, and Elizabeth Howard

The impact of generative AI in a global election year | BrOOKINGS

This report describes the impact generative AI could have on US elections and the impact it has already had on elections around the world.

– Valerie Wirtschafter

DEEPFAKES

Regulating AI Deepfakes and Synthetic Media in the Political Arena | BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE

This report proposes a set of regulations for deepfakes to limit the harms of AI on elections.

– Daniel I. Weiner and Lawrence Norden

Generative Language Models and Automated Influence Operations: Emerging Threats and Potential Mitigations | FSI

This report details the threat posed by automated influence operations and suggests some mitigations.

– Josh A. Goldstein, Girish Sastry, Micah Musser, Renée DiResta, Matthew Gentzel, and Katerina Sedova

ELECTION SECURITY

The ASD AI Election Security Handbook

This report provides a playbook for security measures that local election officials can take.

– Lindsay Gorman and David Levine

Securing the 2024 Election | BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE

This report details steps that officials at the federal, state, and local levels can take to secure US elections.

– Derek Tisler and Lawrence Norden

AI Toolkit for Election Officials

This report recommends steps for election officials to take to mitigate the impacts of AI.

– U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Mis- and dis-information

Ticked off: TikTok approves EU elections disinformation ads for publication in Ireland | Global Witness

To test platform content policies, researchers attempted to run ads with false information about how to vote in Europe, finding that all of the ads were approved to run on TikTok and some were approved to run on YouTube.

Countering Disinformation Effectively: An Evidence-Based Policy Guide | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

This report proposes a framework for the regulation of mis- and dis-information, including from generative AI.

– Jon Bateman and Dean Jackson

Tech Titans Must Step Up to Protect Elections | BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE

This report details the threat of AI to elections and calls on tech companies to take action.

– Lawrence Norden

Seismic Shifts: How Economic, Technological, and Political Trends are Challenging Independent Counter-Election-Disinformation Initiatives in the United States

This report details the impacts that generative AI could have on US elections, in particular by exacerbating disinformation.

– Dean W. Jackson, William T. Adler, Danielle Dougall, and Samir Jain

Lies, Damn Lies, and Generative Artificial Intelligence: How GAI Automates Disinformation and What We Should Do About It | Public Knowledge

This report proposes several ways that different actors could mitigate the impact of AI on elections.

– Lisa Macpherson

How AI Puts Elections at Risk — And the Needed Safeguards | BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE

This report details the ways in which bad actors might use generative AI to exacerbate the problem of disinformation and proposes some mitigations.

– Mekela Panditharatne and Noah Giansiracusa

The Rise of Generative AI and the Coming Era of Social Media Manipulation 3.0

This report forecasts the ways in which generative AI could exacerbate disinformation.

– William Marcellino, Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Amanda Kerrigan, Lev Navarre Chao, and Jackson Smith

USE BY CAMPAIGNS

A policy framework to govern the use of generative AI in political ads | BROOKINGS

This report proposes a framework which governments could use to regulate how political campaigns use generative AI.

– Matt Perault and J. Scott Babwah Brennen

Generative AI in Political Advertising | BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE

This report discusses considerations campaigns should account for when using generative AI.

– Christina LaChapelle and Catherine Tucker