Stay informed with FP’s news and analysis as the United States votes.

As the United States gears up for its high-stakes presidential election on Nov. 5, fears have escalated about the potential of technology to disrupt the vote. Concerns about social media and its role in spreading misinformation—spurred on by Washington’s adversaries—have been in the public conversation for a decade, but officials warn that interference efforts by China, Iran, and Russia have kicked into overdrive around the 2024 election.

One of the biggest fears is the impact of artificial intelligence, particularly large language models—such as OpenAI’s GPT-4—which can generate text, audio, and video on demand and threaten to turbocharge misinformation. While there has been no conclusive evidence that any of the dozens of elections held so far this year have been swayed by AI-generated misinformation, scientist and AI expert Gary Marcus says it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

As the United States gears up for its high-stakes presidential election on Nov. 5, fears have escalated about the potential of technology to disrupt the vote. Concerns about social media and its role in spreading misinformation—spurred on by Washington’s adversaries—have been in the public conversation for a decade, but officials warn that interference efforts by China, Iran, and Russia have kicked into overdrive around the 2024 election.

One of the biggest fears is the impact of artificial intelligence, particularly large language models—such as OpenAI’s GPT-4—which can generate text, audio, and video on demand and threaten to turbocharge misinformation. While there has been no conclusive evidence that any of the dozens of elections held so far this year have been swayed by AI-generated misinformation, scientist and AI expert Gary Marcus says it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

“I am certain that we will see more AI-generated misinformation in the upcoming U.S. election,” Marcus told Foreign Policy. Troubling early examples in this year’s election cycle include a fake robocall in January that used President Joe Biden’s voice to discourage voters from going to the polls during the New Hampshire Democratic primary and a fake video that officials attributed to Russia last week, which showed a poll worker in Pennsylvania destroying ballots.

“I might be willing to accept that we have seen less of it than I anticipated. But we’re seeing some of it, and it only takes one........

© Foreign Policy