candidates must pledge not to use A.I. or deepfakes to deceive voters

Imagine it is October 29, 2024. - The presidential election is one week away. - A video surfaces where one of the two leading candidates appears to be seen and heard whispering to his closest aide that he’s been lying about his position on abortion. - The video is played around the clock on cable news and goes mega-viral on social media. - And the candidate loses the election. - Except the video was a fake. - It was created by a political committee that supported the candidate who ended up winning. - But the American people will never know the truth. That’s because — with Big Tech rapidly, and recklessly, developing ever more powerful artificial intelligence technology — it could soon be impossible, even for experts, to distinguish so-called “deepfakes” from audio and video recordings that are real. And there is currently no federal law that would outright stop political candidates, parties, or committees from using deepfakes and artificial intelligence to willfully deceive voters. Artificial intelligence poses a significant threat to truth and democracy as we know it. That’s not science fiction. It’s not paranoia. It’s the hard reality of the world we live in now. Also, the First Amendment is no defense. Using A.I. to mislead or defraud voters goes far beyond protections for political expression, opinion, or satire. Forget about yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater — this could burn down our very democracy. Public Citizen is formally calling on the Democratic Party and the Republican Party not to use artificial intelligence or deepfake technology to mislead or defraud the electorate. [Join Public Citizen in calling on the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee to:]( [1. Commit immediately not to use deepfake technology to deceive voters.]( [2. Pledge that no candidate affiliated with your party will use deepfake technology to deceive voters.]( [3. Urge all independent committees equally to pledge not to use deepfake technology to deceive voters.]( [4. Call for rapid passage of legislation making it illegal to use deepfake technology to deceive voters.]( [Click now to add your name.]( Thanks for taking action. For democracy, - Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | [Unsubscribe](