# Artificial intelligence in the 2024 US elections: opportunities, risks and solutions

Author: Fernando Nieto Lobato
Original publication: 2024-01-10
Spanish original: https://estrategiabyaleph.substack.com/p/estrategia-15-entre-la-personalizacion
English URL: https://elcontemplador.github.io/estrategia-english/essays/015/
Status: Published translation

This is a translation of the original Spanish essay published on 10 January 2024. Its claims, examples and forecasts retain that historical context.

English publication: 2026-09-29

*Archive note: this article was published on 10 January 2024. The opening quotation is translated from the Spanish source; its original English wording has not been verified. Dorothy is a hypothetical example from the article discussed below.*



> “It is election day in 2024, and a woman we shall call Dorothy answers the telephone and hears Joe Biden’s voice. The president’s recorded call tells her that militant groups have threatened to disrupt polling stations, which is why the White House has extended the deadline for postal ballots. She is directed to a website for further details. Dorothy stays away from the polls, unaware that the voice, the advice and the website are all fake.”



**[This is the opening of a very interesting article in the Boston Globe—probably the best of the many we have read on the subject in recent weeks—about some of the likely consequences of using artificial intelligence in elections](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/05/opinion/2024-election-deepfakes-disinformation-ai/)**, with a particular focus on **this year’s US elections**. As we noted last week, this will be **one of the main AI trends to follow this year**. And, as we promised seven days ago, we shall devote the main article in today’s newsletter to a brief look at some of the central questions that AI will undoubtedly raise in elections from now on, changing them for ever.



The 2024 US elections represent a technological as well as a political battleground, in which artificial intelligence plays an increasingly crucial role. **Dorothy’s story, as described in the Boston Globe article, is a disturbing example of how easily AI can be used to misinform and manipulate voters**. It forces us to reflect on AI’s emerging role in politics and its possible consequences for democracy.



## Opportunities for AI in election campaigns



### Personalisation and campaign effectiveness



Using AI in election campaigns allows unprecedented personalisation in reaching voters. **The ability to analyse large quantities of data and predict voter preferences opens the door to more effective, focused campaigns. This could lead to more strategic allocation of resources and messages that would resonate more meaningfully with voters**.



This personalisation also comes with new tools offering [unprecedented “raw power”, such as the one Rowan Cheung highlights in his post on X](https://twitter.com/rowancheung/status/1743415007927558561?t=ZYq6M4tpaa5NhWHPDvZqGg&s=35), [created by bland.ai](https://www.bland.ai/).



[![Rowan Cheung shares a January 2024 Bland.ai demonstration of automated telephone conversations.](https://elcontemplador.github.io/estrategia-english/assets/images/2ac8e200-7c9e-4173-8430-e3aa8a7199de_910x1080.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GMoI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ac8e200-7c9e-4173-8430-e3aa8a7199de_910x1080.png)



*Screenshot transcription: Cheung writes, “AI phone calls are about to change politics, sales, and customer support forever. Blown away at how fast things are moving.” The embedded Bland.ai announcement describes Bland Turbo as “the world’s fastest conversational AI”, claiming it can send or receive “up to 500,000+ phone calls simultaneously”, respond at human speed in anyone’s voice, and be programmed to do anything. The demonstration shows a 408 ms response: “That’s a really interesting use case. I’d love to get you set up with an appointment with one of our reps. Does next Thursday at 3:00 work?” These are the claims shown in the historical screenshot.*



### Improving voter participation and education



**AI also has the potential to improve voter participation. Through personalised content that appeals directly to individual interests** and engaging platforms, it can encourage greater participation by a better-informed electorate. In addition, [as Oren Etzioni, former chief technology officer of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and other experts point out](https://fortune.com/2023/12/28/2024-election-tsunami-of-misinformation-deepfakes-ai/), **it can also contribute to a growing emphasis on voter education**, fostering resilience against disinformation—a crucial issue given the current potential for its spread.



## Risks and challenges



### Disinformation and manipulation



These advances nevertheless carry significant risks. **AI makes it easier to amplify disinformation**, allowing malicious actors to scale up their interference in elections. Deepfake content, for example, can become a powerful tool for spreading false information indistinguishable from reality, as illustrated by [Microsoft’s allegations that China has used AI on social media to influence US voters](https://www.milenio.com/internacional/microsoft-acusa-china-manejar-bots-influir-elecciones).



### Hyperpersonalised disinformation



Still more alarming is the hyperpersonalisation of disinformation. **Advanced AI techniques would make it possible to create convincing voice messages that appear to come from people the voter knows, such as friends or relatives, directly affecting their behaviour**. This, [combined with the increasing use of voice-cloning technology in political advertising, such as that employed by Instreamatic](https://venturebeat.com/ai/voice-cloning-tech-to-power-2024-political-ads-as-disinformation-concerns-grow/), raises serious ethical and privacy concerns.



### Attacks on voting systems



**Cybersecurity in elections is another key concern**. AI enhances hacking tools that could be used to manipulate voting systems or spread disinformation, threatening the integrity of the electoral process.



These networks, and voting machines themselves, are better protected than ever and often completely disconnected from the internet. Yet the mere perception of increased manipulation could have catastrophic consequences, particularly given Americans’ existing concerns about election integrity.



## Possible solutions



**The authors of the Boston Globe article**—Dan Prieto, an adviser to the Washington, DC policy studio The Future U.S. and former director of cybersecurity policy at the White House National Security Council under the Obama administration; and Miles Taylor, co-founder of The Future U.S. and former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration—**[propose several specific measures to help mitigate these risks](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/05/opinion/2024-election-deepfakes-disinformation-ai/)**:



### Cross-sector collaboration



In the face of these challenges, **industry and civil society must work together. Establishing permanent “red teams” to examine how AI tools could undermine the 2024 elections, and continually look for ways to deploy the technology to defend against disinformation and digital attacks, is essential**. These teams could work alongside electoral agencies to identify vulnerabilities and develop solutions.



### Stronger legislation and technology



**Government support for the development and deployment of new AI technologies for defensive purposes in elections is crucial**. Legislation prohibiting the malicious distribution of deepfake content may also be a step towards protecting electoral integrity.



### Public education and awareness



Finally, **a public awareness campaign is essential. Preparing voters to recognise and resist disinformation is fundamental to maintaining trust in the electoral process**. If AI attacks come as an “October surprise”, they will cause public panic. But if voters are prepared for an unprecedented explosion of “fake news” and junk disinformation, it is less likely to undermine confidence in voting.



[Initiatives such as the exercises carried out by election officials in Arizona to identify and respond to deepfake videos](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/22/arizona-ai-election-deep-fakes-00133113), which we also cover in the news section of this issue, are steps in the right direction.



## Conclusion



**The 2024 US elections will be a crucial indicator of democracy’s resilience in the face of advances and challenges in artificial intelligence. While AI offers opportunities for more effective electoral participation, its risks in terms of disinformation and manipulation must not be underestimated. As we approach this technological and political crossroads, a balanced, vigilant approach is vital to harness AI’s benefits while mitigating its risks. The integrity of democracy depends on it.**



Fernando Nieto Lobato



*Director of Digital Innovation at Institución Educativa ALEPH*