Laws and moral standards governing the application of AI to political campaigns ought to be developed to reduce the possibility of abuse and guarantee openness

Nowadays, national, and international interests are entwined with technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and nanotechnology. As it progresses, it creates several dependencies, power conflicts, rivalries, risks, and opportunities, in addition to posing economic, political, and cultural issues. It has the power to completely change the electoral environment, offering both benefits and difficulties for Indian democracy. 

Challenges for Democracy

Algorithms driven by AI are used by all social media sites to improve the user experience. The use of these algorithms to determine political strategy is growing in importance. As a result, voters might discover themselves in isolated informational bubbles that limit their exposure to opposing ideas and could influence their voting decisions and preferences. Deepfakes, or videos that have been altered to look authentic, can be used to spread untrue stories and defame opponents. Social media bots can amplify messages and create fake trends, which might be used to influence people who aren't sure what to vote for. The complexity of AI-driven disinformation makes it harder and harder to separate fact from fiction, which poses a serious risk to making well-informed decisions during elections. 

Because AI technologies are becoming more sophisticated, it is becoming more challenging to identify and link illicit activities to foreign actors (terrorist organisations or sleeper cells). This may make it more difficult to hold them responsible and stop meddling in the future. AI-powered bots were deployed by foreign Governments and the troll farms they were associated with to flood social media platforms with a network of fictitious identities and deceptive information intended to sway public opinion. These bots propagated negative stereotypes and conspiracies against other candidates, amplified some communications, and gave the impression that a particular candidate was receiving broad support. A few months ago, when the Indian Prime Minister's deepfake video went viral on social media, we got a sneak peek of this. 

This poses a severe risk to democracy since it can be used to influence voters' decisions and actions. For example, the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica created comprehensive psychosomatic profiles of voters by using information that was accumulated from billions of Facebook accounts. Using this data, they were able to target these individuals with customised social media messages and advertisements, which might have an impact on how they voted in the US presidential elections of 2016 and 2020 as well as the Philippine midterm elections.

Looking at the Positive Side

On the positive side, social media and artificial intelligence can support and enhance democracy. 

The capacity of AI to precisely micro-target voters is among its most important effects. This entails creating comprehensive profiles of each voter utilising a plethora of data, including demographics, social media activity, and internet conduct. AI-powered applications provide customised tactics that are more likely to sway voters than traditional mass campaigns. Sentiment analysis techniques, for instance, can detect emerging issues and measure public opinion, enabling campaigns to modify their messaging and concentrate on the issues that matter most to voters.

AI-driven chatbots can answer common questions and inform voters around the clock, freeing up human resources for more important work. Data-driven models improve campaign efficacy and affordability by forecasting voter turnout and allocating resources optimally. AI and social media can be used to raise awareness, reach a larger audience, and resolve complaints. 

The electoral commission can share pertinent information on social media.  To answer the complaints, the Election Commission's website can deploy an AI-based chatbot. AI algorithms can separate the true news from the false one with the use of fact-checking tools. 

In a nation the size of India, it is nearly hard to govern and regulate social media usage. Therefore, if we are unable to solve the issue, we ought to search for a solution. Considering how AI will probably affect our elections, we need to take urgent action on several fronts. 

To prevent assaults on electoral infrastructure and voter data, strong cybersecurity measures are first and foremost required. Second, to recognise and reject disinformation and propaganda, voters need to hone their media literacy and critical thinking abilities.

Third, to prevent foreign meddling in elections, we need to improve information exchange and international collaboration among democracies. 

Fourth, the Government needs to sensitise its employees regarding the handling of data. They should undertake capacity enhancement programmes like data science and decision science. 

Lastly, laws and moral standards governing the application of AI to political campaigns ought to be developed to reduce the possibility of abuse and guarantee openness. Besides,  All election content should also be distinctly watermarked with authenticated political parties, candidates, or registered media.  

(The writer is an Associate Professor at Bennett University, India; views are personal)