Digital experts discuss lack of regulation for AI in N.C. political advertising

On Sept. 20, Americans for Prosparody, a Super PAC, ran an AI-generated TV ad that recreates Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's image and voice to read quotes from his old Facebook posts, rallies and media.  

The PAC also has four shorter 15-second YouTube ads that use AI to digitally recreate Robinson’s voice. 

Founder of Americans for Prosparody Todd Stiefel said the organization's goal was to portray all of Robinson's statements into one comprehensive ad — the first fully AI generated ad to run on TV in American history.

“We also wanted to lean really hard into not only mocking Robinson but mocking AI itself," Stiefel said.

He said AI is just a tool that can be used for good or ill, and that banning or condemning all AI-use in political advertising would be lazy thinking. Instead of a widespread AI ban, he said there should be a specific ban on the deceptive use of AI.

AI in political advertising

Shannon McGregor, an associate professor at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, said the possibility of AI in political advertising could increase fear about the technology because the extent to which people might use it is unknown. 

She said most political advertising does not necessarily persuade people to vote differently — it usually has more of an effect on turn out and raising money. 

“In smaller, down-ballot races — where there's less attention, where there's less knowledge, where there's less overall advertising, [where there's] familiarity with the candidates — that's where any type of political ad can likely have the greatest impact,” McGregor said. 

In these races, she said people should be more concerned about generative AI in political advertising because it has become much more accessible to use AI. 

McGregor said at a minimum, there should be transparency for when political ads use any generative AI content, especially as the public gets used to encountering AI in all types of communication. 

In a national survey conducted by Elon University's Imagining the Digital Future Center in May, Director Lee Rainie said the center found three-quarters of Americans expressed worry about AI being used to impact the election outcome. 

He said  some people think a disclosure about AI usage at the beginning of a political ad — like Stiefel's ad — is good enough. Others, though, worry that people do not read the fine print or do background research. 

Political advertising regulations on AI

This year, the Federal Elections Commission has not proposed any new rules on using AI within political advertising, according to reporting from Axios. Rainie said he thinks the Federal Communications Commission wants to create new rules, but the FEC does not want to in the middle of the election campaign period.

Andrew Richards, the deputy executive director of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party, said while his party does not have an official position on using generative AI, his perspective as a political official is that if an individual is running a campaign, they need to think very carefully about the use of it.

Staff from the North Carolina Republican Party did not respond to The Daily Tar Heel's request for comment.

In late June, the N.C. House of Representatives passed a bill that would require a disclaimer for any political ad that uses generative AI, but it has been in the Senate's rules and operations committee since then. 

Although there is no statewide regulation about using generative AI in political advertising, Richards said it is good to follow an ethical standard. 

“It’s often always better to focus the energy and time that you would into doing a scheme into actually trying to win the election, just running a good campaign, raising money and spending it in a way that's going to be effective,” he said. 

@DTHCityState | city@dailytarheel.com