In a significant revelation, U.S. intelligence officials disclosed that Russia has emerged as the leading foreign actor employing artificial intelligence to influence the 2024 presidential election. This was announced during a briefing on Monday.
The use of advanced AI technology is enabling Russia and Iran to rapidly and effectively create often divisive content aimed at influencing American voters, according to an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), who requested to remain anonymous.
“The intelligence community views AI as a malignant influence accelerator rather than a revolutionary tool,” the official remarked. “In essence, the threats stem from information operations, while AI acts as an enabler.”
Previously, intelligence officials had observed AI applications in international elections, with this latest update confirming its presence in the U.S. election landscape.
Russia’s influence operations have leveraged synthetic images, videos, audio, and text to promote narratives revolving around prominent U.S. figures, as well as to highlight contentious issues such as immigration. This strategy appears to align with the Kremlin’s intent to bolster former President Donald Trump while undermining Vice President Kamala Harris.
The ODNI official emphasized that Russia is also resorting to lower-tech tactics, revealing attempts to stage media presentations, such as a fabricated video wherein a woman falsely accused Harris of a hit-and-run in 2011. Efforts have been made to manipulate recordings of Harris’s speeches, potentially through editing tools or AI.
“One of the observed strategies by Russian influence actors involves creating media intended to encourage widespread dissemination,” the ODNI official said, adding that alterations to videos of Harris aimed to tarnish her reputation and cast her in a negative light compared to her opponents.
In addition, Iran is reported to be using AI to generate social media content and fabricate news stories through sites designed to impersonate legitimate news outlets. The Iranian strategy reportedly focuses on undermining Trump during the upcoming election.
Iran’s AI-generated content is produced in both English and Spanish, targeting Americans on polarizing topics such as the Gaza conflict and upcoming elections.
On another front, China emerges as a threat through AI-powered influence operations aimed at shaping global perceptions about the nation and amplifying divisive issues within the United States, including topics like drug use and immigration.
Despite these tactics, officials noted they have yet to identify any AI-driven operations specifically targeting the electoral processes in the United States. The intelligence community believes that China’s influence efforts are more focused on local elections rather than the presidential race.
Concerns have intensified among U.S. officials, lawmakers, technology companies, and researchers regarding the potential for AI-driven manipulation to disrupt this year’s election campaigns, particularly regarding deepfake technology or misleading narratives about the electoral process.
While the full extent of these threats remains to be seen as Election Day approaches, it has been reported that foreign adversaries are presently using AI primarily to improve their productivity and leverage partisan campaigns through the creation of memes and humorous content.
Officials indicated that foreign entities face several challenges in deploying AI effectively, such as bypassing built-in safeguards of many AI tools undetected, developing advanced models inherently, and strategically targeting dissemination of AI-generated content.
As the election draws near, the intelligence community will closely monitor foreign attempts to introduce misleading or AI-generated content through various channels, including impersonating high-profile figures, managing fake social media accounts, and releasing purported “leaks” of sensitive AI-generated materials.
Recently, the Justice Department accused the Russian state broadcaster RT of channeling nearly $10 million to American influencers who produced videos critical of Harris and Ukraine, highlighting the ongoing efforts to influence the electoral landscape. The influencers involved asserted they were unaware of the funding sources.
