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Republican Darren Bailey, in his second run for governor of Illinois, is using AI-generated images and videos in his political campaign. The AI content reportedly boosts engagement on social media, an important platform for Bailey’s campaign, which primarily relies on small-dollar donations. However, AI in political campaigns has drawn criticism, and Bailey’s opponent, Gov. JB Pritzker, has expressed support for regulations requiring ads with AI content to be watermarked.
AI Shaping Political Campaigns in Illinois
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming political campaigns and Republican Darren Bailey is pioneering its use in Illinois in his second gubernatorial bid. Bailey’s campaign extensively employs AI-generated images and videos, featuring instances like Gov. JB Pritzker in a Green Bay Packers outfit and a cartoonish video of the governor lounging on the beach.[source]
Aaron Del Mar, Bailey’s running mate, asserts that AI content is crucial for their campaign, increasing engagement and making their posts more accessible to algorithms. This is vital for a campaign that relies heavily on small-dollar donations and is not expected to raise substantial funds.
Beyond boosting engagement, AI content creation is also cost-effective, as it is cheaper than employing human graphic designers. Meanwhile, Pritzker’s campaign refrains from using AI images, focusing instead on data analysis and cybersecurity applications of AI.
AI and Politics: Distorting Reality?
Political campaigns have long used distorted images to negatively depict opponents. However, Bailey’s AI-generated content takes this to a new level, inventing content that is entirely fictional. Both Bailey and Del Mar have used AI to create a variety of images and videos on their social media pages, in line with a rising national trend in politics.
Regulation of AI in Political Campaigns
While Bailey and Del Mar continue to feed their followers a steady diet of AI content, Pritzker’s campaign sticks to more traditional methods. Pritzker has spoken out against AI political content, calling for regulations on it. Del Mar has expressed support for similar regulations, with lawmakers in Illinois considering requiring disclosures on advertisements that use AI.
AI is expected to continue featuring in political campaigns due to its proliferation in everyday society. To leverage this powerful tool effectively and responsibly, lawmakers must balance the right to free speech and the need to protect candidates’ likeness.
This article first appeared on Capitol News Illinois and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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