Experts explain the danger of using AI during an election campaign

“And even if Ben Gvir’s supporters don’t believe that it is Beharev Miara in the video, it gives them a sense of identification. Ben Gvir’s public really thinks that the spokeswoman is dangerous and destructive to democracy. This is their right, but the video brings out a sense of anger from them and creates a negative sentiment towards Bharb Miara. Both the tense music and the caption ‘Sword of Democracy’ remain in people’s minds even after they realize the video is fake. It was burned with emotion.”

In recent months, an AI video was published on the Prime Minister’s social media pages, in which Prime Minister Netanyahu and US President Trump are seen flying a B2 plane, and an AI image in which Netanyahu is seen awarding Trump the Nobel Peace Prize.

The destructive window of time

In her opinion, “the subject of the right to political propaganda is at the very heart of freedom of expression, and therefore there are no limitations in this area unless they are specifically established by law. It is not stipulated that lying in election propaganda is prohibited, but only that bias is prohibited. The authority of the chairman of the election committee to discuss the issue is by issuing an order prohibiting the use of propaganda methods, and this only after violating one of the sections of the propaganda law. Each case is examined on its merits and is subject to the interpretation and decision of the judge serving as chairman of the committee, and there is no single valid decision that applies to other cases. The chairman does not have the authority to initiate an appeal to prevent the use of technologies, and therefore he also does not have the authority to discuss a campaign conducted by an external party that is not advertising on behalf of a party.”

“The problem is that the Propaganda Law does not adequately address the Internet, certainly not in the context of AI,” claims Shoshan. “Proposals have been submitted to change the law, and I believe it will happen, but until then we demand that in the run-up to the elections, a broad mechanism is established that consists of the Shin Bet, the police, civil bodies that deal with social networks and the election committee, and it will be able to respond in real time to any deep fake. If this is not enshrined in law, we will base our political perception and decisions at the ballot box on the basis of fake videos. The Director General of the Election Commission said in the Knesset that according to the existing law, she cannot deal with problematic content, even if she sees it, unless an application is submitted alleging illegal propaganda. Until such an application reaches her, a video can gain virality on the networks and change public consciousness.”

Mainly to scare

Attorney Kling qualifies: “However, there are other means that can be used, such as copyright that allows control over the possibility of copying an image that will serve as a basis for a deep fake, or the prohibition of defamation – the derogatory or misleading use of a person’s likeness, which is considered defamation. The Election Law (Methods of Propaganda) does not provide a direct solution, but there are already decisions by the Election Commission that refer to the way of interpreting the use of artificial intelligence. On the less formal side, some platforms, such as Facebook, require users to disclose the use of artificial intelligence tools during political campaigns.”

Rimon concludes and says: “We need to understand that when we process information we have two brains,” says Dr. Liraz Margalit, an expert in behavior design and mind design. “We have the rational brain, which processes the data and is responsible for the slower and deeper processing, but it usually does not work, because it requires a lot of energy from us. What works most of the time is the ‘autopilot’, the emotional system. She does not use data, but images, voices and what speaks to the emotion. And we know that an emotional signal is four times stronger than a rational signal. Therefore, when we see deepfake videos of politicians telling us something, we will not remember that it was a fake, but we will remember the things they said. And this could be a decisive factor in the upcoming elections.”