A. I. , Deepfakes - The Factors of Dissemination and Misinformation in India's Election

Experts warn AI-generated deepfakes pose a severe risk of spreading misinformation that could undermine India's elections, prompting calls for new regulations.

With India's national election running into a high-voltage race, experts suggest the 'possible' misuse of AI and deepfake technology that can lead to the distribution of misleading information and propaganda.

These fact-checkers have found that the AI-generated avatars have been used to represent deceased figures like Duwaraka (a daughter of the Leader of Tamil Tiger militants) who have delivered speeches on sensitive issues. It is highly possible that such fabricated but realistic content can provoke wider tensions preceding the voting which might threaten security.

AI is one of the popular tools for political campaigning in India and parties use it for creating personalized audio messages and also producing non-real video avatars of their candidates. The exceptionally fast progress of AI can also be used for the production of deepfake videos that are unsurprisingly very accurate in the way they distort the looks and words of the actual person.

In one of the recent cases, viral deepfake videos circulating on the net appeared to have Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Aamir Khan, who were campaigning for the opposition Congress party, running to the police on this. Even the Prime minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi, has cautioned about the technology of AI being used to distort rallies given by BJP leaders including himself.

Among a few arrests involving deepfake videos all around India, no statute has been formed yet to regulate the artificially intelligent and deepfake technology. It leaves the self-governance for the producers and creators. Groups that do fact-checking say they are having trouble refuting the lies that were distributed by an AI this election cycle.

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During the current time of high-tech advancements, the voices for the laws and guidelines from the Election Commission are getting louder and louder to check the abuses and preserve the integrity of democracy are getting louder. Limiting the capabilities of this technology is not an option, experts say, as this kind of misinformation could pose a serious threat and may result in a lack of confidence in the outcome of elections.