The Rise of AI in Global Elections
Introduction
In India and Indonesia, deceased leaders are endorsing their political successors. In South Africa, rapper Eminem is backing opposition parties. Meanwhile, in the United States, AI is playing a significant role in the political landscape. Welcome to the future—welcome to 2024.
The Impact of AI on Elections
For the first time, the widespread availability of AI is influencing elections. This year, over 2 billion people—the largest number ever—will vote in national, local, and regional elections. AI is being used for various purposes, from writing speeches and answering policy questions to more nefarious activities like humiliating female politicians and promoting scams. AI is also being used to deploy bots and tailor automated texts to voters.
Challenges and Concerns
Experts acknowledge that generative AI will drastically change the information landscape, but the full extent of its impact is still unknown. Issues like misinformation, disinformation, and hateful content, which have long plagued tech platforms, are likely to be amplified despite ongoing efforts to mitigate them.
Tracking AI in Elections
To understand how generative AI is changing the political and information landscape, we are tracking its use worldwide throughout 2024. Our continuously updated list and map will show each country where AI has been identified in elections and the frequency of its use. Detailed information about each instance, including the companies, tools, and platforms involved, will also be provided.
Global Election Overview
North America: Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and the United States.
Europe: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Many of these countries are also part of the European Union, which has parliamentary elections this year.
Asia: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Mongolia, North Korea, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan.
Africa: Algeria, Botswana, Chad, Comoros, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, and Tunisia.
Learn More and Contribute
To learn more about our methodology and submit an example of AI being used in elections, please click below.
ASCII animations: David Szakaly
Source Images: Getty, Willy Kurniawan/Reuters (Asia)
AI Images courtesy of: Luke Brocks (Biden); Mark Kaye (Trump); Sun News (Karunanidhi/DMK Party); @doctorrichabjp (Kejriwal Jail); Taiwan Fact Check Center (Xi Jinping and Lai Ching-te); @sobingrouper (Rob Wittman); @zelensky_neofficial (Zelensky); Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine (Victoria Shi)
2 Comments
Is AI the new puppet master pulling the strings of democracy?
The real question is—will AI truly enhance our democracy or subvert it completely!