Images altered by AI are a 'threat to democratic processes', experts warn

British politician Karl Turner shared an image on Platform X, formerly Twitter, that shows the Prime Minister drinking a low-quality beer at a festival, while a woman looks on with a mocking expression. The image was manipulated from an original photo, in which Sunak appears with a pub beer, while the person behind him has a neutral expression.

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The image sparked widespread criticism, with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden calling it “unacceptable”.

Experts warned that the fight is an indication of what could happen during future election campaigns. While it is unclear whether Sunak's image was manipulated using an AI tool, these programs have made it easier and faster to produce convincing fake text, images and audio.

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Wendy Hall, professor at the University of Southampton, alert: “I think the use of digital technologies, including AI, is a threat to our democratic processes. It should be high on the agenda in the AI ​​risk register with two major elections – in the UK and US – approaching next year.”

Shweta Singh, an educator at the University of Warwick, adds: “We need a set of ethical principles that can guarantee and reassure users of these new technologies that the news they are reading is trustworthy. We need to act on this now, as it is impossible to imagine fair and impartial elections if such regulations do not exist. It is a serious concern and we are running out of time.”

Meanwhile, the most powerful AI companies have recognized the need for a system to tag AI-generated content. Last month, Amazon developer, Google, Goal, Microsoft e ChatGPT, OpenAI, agreed to a set of new safeguards in a meeting with Joe Biden, which included the use of watermarking for AI-powered visual and audio content.

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