Russia allegedly leads AI efforts to influence U.S. presidential election

According to a recent report, Russia has produced more bot-assisted content in relation to the upcoming US presidential election than any other country. A U.S. intelligence official claims that the operation is to support the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, and to discredit the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.

The official spoke anonymously during a briefing about the supposed use of AI by Russia and other nations to influence the election set to occur on November 5. The Moscow’s AI content is in sync with the ongoing campaign to promote Trump as a candidate. The content is said to contain stories that are meant to discredit Harris and the Democratic party. 

The intelligence official also noted that there was a conspiracy theory aspect in the material that was released by Russia which in turn suggested that Russia was in a way attempting to manipulate the people’s perception.

Despite other countries doing the same, the Russian use of AI in election interference has been identified as the most extensive. The intelligence official talked to the media about these events but did not elaborate on the information or the apps that were employed.

Microsoft uncovers Russian entities sharing fake videos

The Russian campaign has spread to the social media platforms and fake news websites. In a report on September 17th, Microsoft disclosed that two Russian entities utilized X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram to disseminate fake videos regarding Harris. 

These videos showed Harris as being involved in a hit-and-run accident, and another one painted her supporters as attackers of a Trump supporter. Both the videos went viral and were watched by millions of people.

Clint Watts, the general manager at Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC), said that the Russian troll farms shared the videos. One video was shared by a fake news website based in San Francisco, which was created only days prior to that.  

U.S. government intensifies AI regulation efforts

However, as these threats continue to emerge, the United States government has ramped up its attempts to control the application of AI in election-related messaging. The Justice Department has recently filed an indictment against two Russian state media employees accused of using Russian funds to finance an online content creation firm located in Tennessee. 

The firm was behind the creation of contentious political content targeted at the American electorate. Also, the FBI closed down 32 websites which were claimed to be owned by the Russian influence operations. All of these websites were found to be spreading disinformation and sharing materials that sought to influence opinion and perception.

Additionally, 26 US states have enacted or are considering laws that could regulate the use of AI in political speech. At least 19 states have already passed laws specifically banning deepfakes and other synthetic media.