'Biting heads off puppies': AI's threat to elections

Artificial intelligence advances are posing new challenges for election security, according to Australia's top election official. At a parliamentary committee hearing, AEC Commissioner Jeff Pope warned that deepfakes and other AI-powered attacks are exacerbating threats to election integrity. The commissioner suggested that the AEC could mandate deepfake labeling, educate the public, and debunk misinformation, but stressed that its enforcement powers were limited.

The more the regulator is asked to make judgments, the greater the risk of challenges to its impartiality, Pope noted. He illustrated the AEC's constraints by discussing scenarios involving deepfakes showing political figures in absurd scenarios, such as biting a puppy's head off. The commissioner emphasized that only content related to voting could be stopped by the AEC, and that banning deepfakes entirely might violate Australia's implied freedom of political communication.

Experts testified that training AI models in Australia might require changes to copyright law to allow for licensing or free use of content. The government could also rely on market-driven solutions, letting artists and AI companies negotiate their own arrangements.