VOA新闻杂志2024--A Shared Video Raises Concerns about AI and Politics

 

A video shared on the social media service X is raising concerns about the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to mislead voters, with American elections about three months away.

The video causing concern shows U.S. Vice¹ President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say. Harris is the likely Democratic Party presidential nominee³. The video was changed using AI tools.

The video gained widespread attention after tech billionaire Elon Musk⁴ shared it on X last week. Musk did not write in his posting that the video was a parody⁵. A parody is any work that imitates someone or something, with the purpose of being funny.

People who saw the video thought it had the appearance of a real political advertisement created by the Harris campaign. But the video's audio has another voice that sounds like Harris but is not.

Harris began her presidential campaign after U.S. President Joe Biden said he would no longer seek reelection. Biden had already gained enough delegates in primary elections to be the party's candidate.

In the video shared by Musk, the voice that sounds like Harris says, "I, Kamala Harris, am you Democrat² candidate for president..." It says Harris is a "diversity hire" because she is a woman and is not white. It also says she does not know the "first thing about running the country." The video uses real "Harris for President" images. It also contains real video of things Harris has said in the past.

Mia Ehrenberg is a Harris campaign spokesperson. Ehrenberg wrote in an email to the Associated Press (AP): "We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity and security Vice President Harris is offering; not the fake manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump⁶."

The widely shared video is an example of how AI-generated images, video and audio have been used to make fun of people or to mislead the public. AI-generated materials have increasingly targeted politics.

High-quality AI tools are now easier to find and use. Some people say there are not enough federal rules to control their use. Currently, states and social media services set rules for using AI for political purposes.

The fake video of Harris raises questions about how people should deal with videos that have been changed when they are parodies⁷ or satire⁸.

A YouTube user known as Mr Reagan first shared the video. That user wrote on both YouTube and on X that the video was manipulated and that it was a parody.

Chris Kohls, the YouTube user known as Mr Reagan, pointed⁹ an AP reporter to another YouTube video he made early Monday in answer to the reaction of the parody video. In the new video, Kohls confirmed he used AI to make the fake ad and argued that it was clearly a parody.

However, Musk shared the parody ad by writing, "This is amazing." He also included a "laughing" emoji. He did not clearly state that the video is a parody.

More than 123 million people have seen the video through Musk.

Musk's X social media service has a feature called "community notes." It permits users to add context to messages that might be misleading. Some people using the feature have suggested that Musk's message should have said that the video was a parody. They say it might have violated X's policies, which bar "out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm."

The X policy makes exceptions for memes and satire, as long as such postings do not cause "significant confusion..."

The United States Congress has not passed a law on AI and politics. But federal agencies have made efforts to do so. The National Conference of State Legislatures says more than one-third of American states have passed their own laws regulating the use of AI in campaigns and elections.

The U.S. elections will take place on November 5.

Words in This Story

parody -n. any artistic¹⁰ work that imitates the style or behavior of another person with the purpose of being funny

diversity -n. the condition of including many different kinds of things

manipulated -adj. changed in some way for a specific purpose

satire -n. a way of using humor to show that someone or something is foolish

feature -n. a quality, part or ability of a product that is worth noting

context -n. the additional information necessary to understand a piece of writing, video, sound or an image

confuse -v. to use language or images to prevent people from understanding something

meme -n. an image that spreads quickly and becomes popular with certain people

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

5 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 parodies   

n.拙劣的模仿( parody的名词复数 )；恶搞；滑稽的模仿诗文；表面上模仿得笨拙但充满了机智用来嘲弄别人作品的作品v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Later, however, they delight in parodies of nursery rhymes. 可要不了多久，他们便乐于对它进行窜改。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• Most parodies are little more than literary teases. 大多数讽刺的模仿诗文只能算上是文学上的揶揄。 来自辞典例句

8 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。