Lok Sabha elections of 2024 has seen a widespread adoption of artificial intelligence. Almost every aspect of campaigning has felt its spell. Earlier, disinformation and hate speech did show-up in the electoral landscape of India. However, with the introduction of AI electorates have become more susceptible to being misled.
Elections have been a game of real versus fake. Reports suggest that developing countries are quick to adapt to a new technology. It has been found that they better understand emerging technology than the developed countries. Hence, developing countries see AI more as a boon than bane.
The first phase of Lok Sabha elections are about to kickstart on April 19. However, in the run up to the polls, political parties have used their full potential to gain the attention of the voters. Hence, AI generated content — images, videos, audios — received an uptick.
Political parties across the country have used AI to communicate with their voters. They have reached out to the electorates with an aim to persuade them ahead of the polls.
Use of AI in political campaigns
One of the biggest national political outfits of our country the Bharatiya Janata Party has used AI to reach out to its multilingual audience. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches during the campaign rallies were translated into Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Bangla, Odia, Telugu, Punjabi and Marathi.
The first time PM Modi used AI to get his speech translated in real time was in December 2023 when he was addressing an event in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. In a similar vein, PM Modi addressed the audience in Hindi at Kashi Tamil Sangamam while his speech got translated into Tamil in real time.
Leaders being able to interact with the locals in the regional language comes as an added advantage. There is no denying that people get swayed to some extent when leaders try to communicate with them in their local languages. It creates an impact on the electorates which benefit the respective party.
BJP’s push towards the South is known to all. And his speech getting translated in real time adds to the fervour.
Moreover, it is not just the BJP. Other political parties, too, are using the AI to increase connectivity with the masses. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam brought back its stalwart Karunanidhi to life with the help of AI. In the AI-generated video, Karunanidhi heaps praises on his son MK Stalin. The video surfaced in public domain in September 2023 and since then it has been used on frequent intervals by the party to boost the popularity of Stalin.
While campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam used AI to bring back J Jayalalithaa. In a most recent development, robots with screen pasted on its chest was used to campaign for an AIADMK candidate. On the screen, Jayalalithaa appeared where she was asking people to vote in favour of the party.
CPI(M), too, has used AI to campaign for the polls of 2024. With the help of Samata, which is an AI-generated anchor, the party tried to reach out to the masses, although the step drew flak from several quarters.
The ones who create AI-generated content, such as deepfake videos and others, are of the view that the market of AI is gaining momentum. And in the coming years, the demand for this is going to increase.
Pros of using AI in polls
It becomes easier for political leaders to communicate with the masses. Political rallies are demanding. It requires time, money and manpower for its successful execution. Party leaders can just create a video citing their achievement and circulate the same among the masses. While putting up traditional rallies require man power, these AI generated videos can be made with little effort.
Thus, the electoral landscape is going through a transformation with the help of AI.
AI is a threat to elections
Concerns regarding the urge to distinguish between facts and fiction underscore the threat to democracy and polls. Cloning a leader sparks trust issues and very easily a disinformation can be generated.
Political parties use AI to disseminate disinformation regarding one’s opponent or rival party. For instance, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was seen behind the bars in a video where he was playing guitar.
Additionally, with the help of AI, artificial trends can be created on social media which can influence public opinion. So making false statements and baseless promises can become very easy. Any leader’s clone will be speaking through a video made by AI and brag about the promises which have no mention in the party’s manifesto.
Hence, timing is also an issue as by the time a deepfake video is identified and pulled down from the social media platform, it has already reached a large number of people and the damage has been done.
Thus, AI can be used both ethically and unethically— the onus of which lies with the user. These contents are put up on social media platforms which do not have real-time monitoring system. Since this comes into existence, AI will continue to be a double-edged sword for the elections and democracy in India rather than a boon or bane.
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