AI is to Blame
While disinformation has been around for as long as politics, AI’s contribution to fake news has leveled up the game. Automated disinformation is designed to spread like wildfire via amplified voices on social media. Bots, fake accounts, and misleading websites have been built to look, feel, and sound like genuine people or news outlets, making it especially hard for regular users to tell when they’re being manipulated.
AI’s role in spreading disinformation wasn’t limited to fringe politicians or amateur provocateurs. Dark money—funds from undisclosed donors—found its way into fueling AI-driven content. This campaign season, thousands of paid ads crafted with the help of AI systems flooded key battleground states like Nevada and Pennsylvania. These ads didn’t just cast doubt on particular candidates, but also on the sanctity of the election process itself.
How AI Tailored Election Propaganda to You
Today’s AI systems are scarily good at gathering minute details about your habits, your social circles, and even your personality types. Combined with mountains of personal data (often harvested without your full awareness), AI allows political operatives to target voters with ads that feel eerily personal.
Picture this: One moment, you’re getting promoted content pushing for universal healthcare reforms because you searched for a health insurance comparison a couple of weeks ago. The next, you might be hit with an ad taking a stance against increased taxes on big corporations—all because you once shared a post about entrepreneurship.
Here are three ways AI can pinpoint you:
- Demographic Microtargeting: AI breaks users down into segments that include age, income, family size, and even favorite hobbies. Based on this, your feed might show content that suits your demographic profile perfectly.
- Behavioral Analysis: It watches what you click, where you linger, and what you skip. This data allows AI to predict what kind of political content you’ll engage with and which candidate you might support.
- Psychological Profiling: AI digs deeper into your online emotional expressions (likes, reactions, comments, etc.) and crafts emotionally resonant propaganda tailored to manipulate your core beliefs.
This level of precision is wildly effective—and it goes deeper than just influencing “swing voters.” AI manipulates core democratic values by accelerating polarization, turning the listening ear of the electorate into a rigid, factionalized echo chamber.
Can Democracy Survive AI’s Influence?
With more and more facets of election campaigns being orchestrated by AI systems, we’re left to wonder if our democratic systems are up to the challenge. If AI’s ability to craft personalized propaganda becomes stronger—and it surely will—it could severely destabilize the ability of elections to reflect the will of the people.
“This is the greatest threat to democracy that has emerged in the 21st century,” said Nina Schick, author of “Deepfakes: The Coming Infocalypse.” “AI doesn’t only alter what we see in the present; it fundamentally changes how we interpret history, policy, and political promises.” Schick urges for global regulation on the possible misuse of AI in politics, suggesting that governments take immediate steps to protect democracies from algorithmic manipulation.
So, what can be done? Experts suggest that political transparency laws must evolve to keep pace with AI’s advancements. Regulation needs to play catch-up, and fast.
What to Expect in Future Elections
We’re still just scratching the surface of AI’s political power, and future elections are sure to see more AI-driven innovations—or problems, depending on how you look at it. The rise of AI-created armies of bots that look indistinguishable from human users, AI-generated candidates (yes, you read that correctly!), and self-learning propaganda systems could take elections to places we can’t yet fully comprehend.
What we do know is that AI is set to play an even bigger role than it did in 2024. As we inch closer to new elections, the next frontier might involve generative AI creating and managing political campaigns from scratch, without human input.
Political players already know the game-changing potential of these tools, and they’re only going to get more sophisticated in the coming electoral battles. If we don’t figure out how to track or regulate AI’s pursuit of influence, elections might soon become the greatest illusion of fairness politics has ever seen.
As we step into the future of politics, it’s crucial not only for politicians but also for voters to remain aware and critical of the content that flashes across screens daily. Your vote might stay sacred, but the way to your decision might very well be paved by artificial intelligence.