Democrat seeks to regulate AI-generated campaign ads after GOP video depicts dystopian Biden victory in 2024

A House Democrat proposed legislation this week that would require political campaign ads to make it clear to viewers when generative artificial intelligence is used to produce video or images in those ads, an idea that is a response to an AI-generated ad against President Biden that was released last week.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., said in a statement introducing her bill that AI has become a factor in the upcoming campaign and needs to be regulated so people can understand what they hear and see on television.

"The upcoming 2024 election cycle will be the first time in U.S. history where AI generated content will be used in political ads by campaigns, parties, and Super PACs," she said. "Unfortunately, our current laws have not kept pace with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies."

"If AI-generated content can manipulate and deceive people on a large scale, it can have devastating consequences for our national security and election security," she added.

An aide to Clarke acknowledged that the bill was prompted by the release of the Republican National Committee's AI-generated ad called "Beat Biden," which depicted a dystopian near-future in which President Biden wins re-election in 2024. The ad shows AI-produced images and videos of Taiwan being overrun by Chinese forces, economic collapse in the U.S., a surge in illegal immigrants at the southern border and the shuttering of the entire city of San Francisco due to rampant crime.