Will Deepfake AI content affect the 2024 election?

Tech

by the SWNS

According to a recent survey, nearly half of American voters believe that AI-generated content will negatively affect the outcome of the 2024 election (43%).

A survey of 2,000 registered U.S. voters found not only that people are increasingly disillusioned with the deepfake-filled political digital landscape, but also that people don’t differentiate between AI-generated content and human-generated content. can do

As part of the study, respondents were asked to differentiate between AI-generated images and human-created images and the majority misidentified all AI images as human-created.

On average, only a third of respondents (33%) were able to correctly detect AI-generated images.

Comparisons between AI audio and human voice were not very promising. When played an audio clip with an AI voice, a fifth (20%) of respondents could not be sure whether it was human or AI, while 41% believed the AI ​​voice was authentically human. .

Commissioned by Ubico, in partnership with Defending Digital Campaigns, and conducted by OnePoll, the research found that according to respondents, politics is the first media sector to be affected by deepfakes (AI). (content created with the intent to mislead) has been adversely affected by

More than three-quarters (78%) are concerned about the use of AI-generated content to impersonate political candidates and spread disinformation, and 45% say they are “very concerned” about the issue.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents question whether political videos, interviews, and online ads are real or deepfake content.

And seven in ten (70%) worry that authentic and truthful political information will be lost amid online misinformation.

“In addition to the threat of AI and widespread disinformation, 85% of respondents do not have a high level of confidence that political campaigns can effectively access their personal information,” said David Tress, vice president of solution architecture at Ubico. protect.”

“This can have detrimental effects on a campaign, as a loss of trust for a campaign can mean voters avoid getting involved in the election process, from withholding donations to not voting for a candidate. It is important that candidates take appropriate measures to protect their campaigns and more importantly, build trust with voters by adopting advanced cyber security practices such as multi-factor authentication.

Respondents said their top concern about cybersecurity during the 2024 election season was that a politician they support would be successfully hacked for spreading false information and opinions (24%). and that political campaigns generally do not take cybersecurity seriously enough (24%).

To remedy this, registered voters would like to see campaigns and candidates take precautions to prevent their websites from being hacked (42%), stronger security measures such as multi-factor authentication on their accounts (41% ), and creating cybersecurity protocols and personnel. Training (38%).

Only 15% have a high level of confidence that political campaigns effectively protect the personal information they collect.

In fact, more than two in five respondents (43%) say they have shared personal information with a company or organization that has been hacked.

And of the 60% of registered voters who have donated to a political campaign, 42% have not completed a donation transaction online because of concerns about the security of the transaction and how their personal information will be handled. What is it.

Nearly a third (30%) doubt that campaigns meet their expectations for implementing cybersecurity standards to protect their personal information.

Public opinion in this area has had a major impact on election results: 36% of respondents said their opinion of a candidate would change if the candidate suffered a cyber security incident, such as their e-mail. Mail gets hacked.

Forty-two percent of campaign contributors said their likelihood of donating again would change if a campaign was hacked, and 30 percent reported that it would change a candidate’s chances of getting the vote. will go.

“Political campaigns are targets for bad actors, including nation states, cybercriminals, and hacktivists. Given the high stakes of this election year, the risks are even greater,” President and CEO of Defending Digital Campaigns. Michael Keizer said.

“The entire campaign staff — from the candidate to the volunteers — must understand that they are targets and protect themselves and the campaign with the right cybersecurity tools and technology. Any breach can derail the entire campaign and the election. With the clock ticking toward the day, precious time can be wasted. As this important survey shows, voters have high expectations about how campaigns will protect their information.

Survey Procedure:

This random double opt-in survey of Americans who are registered to vote. was commissioned by Yubico, in partnership with Defense Digital Campaigns, between February 13 And February 18, 2024. It was conducted by a market research company One Poolwhose team members are members. Market Research Society and obtain corporate membership of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPORand the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (Esomar).