Artificial intelligence is helping shape the 2024 presidential race. But not in the way experts feared

WASHINGTON – As the 2024 election, the first since the mass popularization of generative artificial intelligence, approached, experts feared the worst: social media would be flooded with AI-generated deepfakes so realistic that voters were baffled and didn’t know what to believe.

So far, none of that has happened. Instead, voters have seen something far more absurd: a video of former President Donald Trump riding a cat while brandishing an assault rifle. Mustachioed Vice President Kamala Harris, dressed in communist garb. Trump and Harris passionately kissing.

Artificial intelligence is playing a major role in the presidential campaign, even if the greatest fears about the threat it could pose to the US presidential election have yet to materialize. Fake images generated by AI regularly circulate on the web, but many of them are so cartoonish and absurd that even the most naive viewer would not be able to take them seriously.

Yet even these memes can be problematic. Eye-catching photos and videos generated by AI, some intended to be funny, have become useful tools for spreading false, sometimes racist, messages with clear political overtones. Candidates and their supporters are among those sharing them on social media.

For example, Trump and many of his allies have not only repeatedly promoted the baseless conspiracy theory that Haitian migrants are stealing and eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, but they have also spread AI-generated memes. One, shared by Trump’s Truth Social account, showed him riding a luxury jet surrounded by cats and white ducks. Another showed a group of kittens holding a sign that read, “DON’T LET THEM EAT US, Vote for Trump!”

Francesca Tripodi, an expert on online propaganda, said these AI-generated images are new viral vehicles for spreading age-old anti-immigration narratives.

“Memes that amplify this claim are anything but funny. When elected officials use these images to perpetuate racism and xenophobia, that’s a huge problem,” said Tripodi, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Republicans defend the images as lighthearted jokes and byproducts of Trump’s personality.

“There’s a culture of personality around Donald Trump that encourages this kind of over-the-top communication style that turns things into comedic memes,” said Caleb Smith, a Republican strategist. “The intent is to entertain, not to deceive. That’s what it should be.”

Not just Trump supporters

Trump and his supporters aren’t the only ones creating AI memes, but they appear to be using AI image generators more than their Democratic counterparts. Some left-leaning users have posted AI images mocking billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X and a vocal supporter of Trump’s campaign. Democrats have also posted AI-generated images of Trump being handcuffed and chased by police while in court in Manhattan last year.

But Kamala Harris’ campaign hasn’t sought to amplify AI-generated content, instead sticking to TikTok trends and other memes that don’t require AI models to create.

“Currently, the only permitted use of generative AI in a campaign setting is for productivity tools, such as data analysis and industry-standard coding assistance,” said Mia Ehrenberg, a spokeswoman for the Harris campaign.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not respond to specific questions from The Associated Press but said its strategy has not changed since May, when he provided an emailed statement saying the campaign had not “used or relied on” tools provided by an AI company.

Using fake, entertaining, and often absurd images to score political points is nothing new. But unlike Photoshopped images or political cartoons, AI-generated images have a stronger impact due to their hyperrealism and can draw new attention to a political message.

While some of the pet-related images in Springfield were cartoonish and ridiculous, many felt they perpetuated a damaging conspiracy theory about a community that has since received bomb threats prompting the evacuation of schools and government buildings.

“Memes that are blatantly parodic are one thing. It’s another when they’re blatantly intended to mislead,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and vocal Trump critic. “And we’re already seeing the Trump campaign really muddy the waters.”

AI makes things easier

The speed and accessibility of generative AI tools make it easy to create original political content that can generate clicks and likes. Because AI image generators are accessible to anyone with an internet connection, they’re a low-cost, convenient way for campaigns to respond to online trends and get their message across.

“Election campaigns have been struggling with disinformation and misinformation for a very long time. … It’s not a new problem. But AI obviously allows us to do that work faster, perhaps more convincingly, and in a more targeted environment,” said Teddy Goff, digital director for Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

Paul Ingrassia, a New York-based political commentator and lawyer, said he created a viral image of Trump emerging from a lion’s den in a matter of seconds by goading Grok into doing so, then inserted it into his newsletter and sent it to members of Trump’s campaign team. Trump’s Truth Social account published Ingrassia’s newsletter, including the image, that day.

“I got a message from my contact with the president and he said, ‘The president loved the image, how did you make it? Who created it?’ And I said, ‘Oh, that’s right. I made it for the article,’” Ingrassia said. “And he said, ‘Keep up the great work, he loves it.’”

The use of AI for political satire and propaganda is not limited to the United States and has been observed in elections from Indonesia to the Netherlands.

More sinister deepfakes have also sought to influence elections around the world. In Slovakia last year, AI-generated audio clips posed as the leader of the Liberal Party talking about rigging the vote days before parliamentary elections. During the New Hampshire primaries in January, deepfake audio of President Joe Biden was sent via robocalls to Democratic voters, urging them not to vote. The incident was quickly made public and led to criminal charges.

Trump’s embrace of AI-generated imagery contradicts some of his past comments. In an interview on Fox Business this year, Trump called artificial intelligence “very dangerous” and “very scary” because “there’s no real solution” to the problems created by technological advances.

Some Republicans are concerned about how Trump and the GOP are using AI to create political memes.

“I don’t care about memes. I never have and I never will,” said Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican representative from Pennsylvania in a contested district outside Philadelphia. “I just don’t believe in them.”

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Swenson reported from New York.

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This article is part of an Associated Press series, “The AI ​​Campaign,” exploring the influence of artificial intelligence in the 2024 election cycle.

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