AI-generated deepfakes could wreak havoc in elections, but Arizona officials are determined to avoid that [Video]

Deepfakes hijack images of trusted news personalities and politicians and undermine confidence in the news media. Pictured is a still image from an AI-generated deepfake video of Kari Lake by Arizona Agenda. 

By Keetra Bippus/Cronkite News

MILWAUKEE – The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has opened the doors to a flood of new possibilities in politics – including convincing deepfakes and the rapid spread of disinformation.

“We should consider (AI) to be a significant risk to American democracy,” said David Harris, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who studies AI, misinformation, and democracy.

The growing availability of AI tools means that creating realistic – but fraudulent – video, audio, and photos of politicians is cheaper and more accessible than ever.

“By the time November election rolls around, you’ll hardly be able to tell the difference between reality and artificial intelligence,” says a deepfake version of Kari Lake, the former GOP …