Google will soon require that political advertising using artificial intelligence be accompanied by an important clarification in case the images or sounds have been synthetically altered.
Starting in November, just under a year before Election Day, Google indicated in an update to its political content policy that AI disclosure to alter images must be clear and visible and located somewhere where users they can notice it.
While fake images, video, or audio clips aren’t new to political advertising, generative artificial intelligence tools are making it easier and more realistic. Some presidential campaigns in the 2024 race — including Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s — are already using the technology.
The Republican National Committee published an entirely AI-generated ad in April that purported to show the future of America if President Joe Biden is re-elected. He used fake but realistic photographs showing boarded up business fronts, armored military patrols on the streets, and waves of immigrants creating panic.
In June, the DeSantis campaign shared ads against his Republican primary opponent, Donald Trump, that used artificial intelligence-generated footage of the former president embracing infectious disease expert, physician Anthony Fauci.
Last month, the Federal Election Commission began a process to potentially regulate AI-generated deepfakes in political advertising ahead of the 2024 election.
Congress could pass legislation creating protective barriers to misleading AI-generated content, and lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have expressed their intention to do so.
Several states have also discussed or passed laws related to deepfake technology.
Google will not completely ban AI in political advertising. Exceptions to the ban include synthetic content altered or generated in a way that has no consequence for the claims made in the ad. The AI can also be used in editing techniques such as image resizing, cropping, color, flaw correction, or background editing.
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