With AI image generation becoming so realistic, any person could see the issues with it from a mile away. One major issue has to do with political misinformation. One shining example arose recently when AI-generated images of Donald Trump with black supporters started circulating around the internet.
Right now, we are trying to figure out how to differentiate between what’s real and what’s artificially generated. It’s extremely tough for companies to do this because AI companies like OpenAI, Google, MidJourney, etc. are constantly improving their technology. It’s to the point where they are indistinguishable from real-life images.
This wasn’t much of a problem back in 2022 when AI image generation first hit the public. However, it’s now a major concern in 2024, as the US presidential election is set to begin within a few months. So, we can expect unscrupulous individuals to artificially generate false images of wrongdoing on either side of the political spectrum.
AI-generated images of Trump with black supporters hit the internet
Even though the elections are months out, we are already getting our first taste of AI-generated political misinformation. According to sources, there have been a handful of images depicting former president Donald Trump with black supporters. These are the types of images that distort reality and make people assume things that didn’t really happen. Unfortunately, we do not know the source of the images. However, according to the report, one image was actually generated as satire.
In any case, this still foreshadows a major issue that is only going to ramp up as we get closer to the official election. In fact, there have been several studies that show just how easy it is to create fake political images.
For example, one fairly recent report found that some of the top AI image generators are more susceptible to generating images of voter fraud than generating images of either Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Also, a report conducted by the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate found that they were able to create images of armed militia members at polling spots and President Joe Biden stuffing ballot boxes.
So, it’s only the beginning of a storm we are going to have to weather over the next couple of months. Not only will the US be in a bind, but other countries as well. They will also have to deal with this type of drama with their government elections.
At this point, the companies making these image generators are not properly managing them. So, it’s extremely easy to create images like these. We’re going to have to see if major companies are going to be able to call or reduce these types of images before the elections take off.
