Florida legislature passes bill to require disclaimer on AI-influenced political ads
TAMPA, Fla. - Artificial intelligence is changing the landscape of politics, so Florida lawmakers passed a bill Friday to ensure voters know when it’s been used in a political advertisement.
"Senators, this is a historic piece of legislation. We’re finally addressing AI in a presidential election cycle. This is a big deal," said State Senator Nick DiCeglie, R-Pinellas County, the bill’s sponsor in the senate.
The Florida legislature gave final approval to a bill that requires a disclaimer for any political advertisement that using artificial intelligence.
"You don’t have to go too far to see the technology of artificial intelligence and what that can do, especially how that can impact our elections. How can that depict someone doing something, saying something, being somewhere where in reality they’re not?" said DiCeglie.
Misinformation is a concern in politics, and political analyst Susan MacManus said voters are already wary of AI.
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"When asked about it specifically as it has to do with campaign ads, this was a poll taken four or five months ago, and well over a third at that point were already saying, I'm just not going to believe any ad," said MacManus, who is a University of South Florida Distinguished University Professor Emerita.
The ad disclaimer would have to read "created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence," and that’s for audio, video, images, text or graphics.
"The way I think about this is it could be equally exciting and scary," said Abdallah Musmar, an assistant professor of instruction at USF’s Muma College of Business. "If you want to think about it in a creative way, you can use AI to make your campaign a lot more tailored to the audience you intend to listen to."
But Musmar knows AI can also be used to deceive, so he said the disclaimer is a good start.
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"Right now, if we create content from chatGPT and we show content that was written by a human being, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to tell the difference, and we’re not even talking about video-generated content yet," said Musmar.
Political experts said it boils down to trust between the voter and the candidate.
"If people don't have trust, that can certainly affect turnout," said MacManus. "It can affect support for a candidate that might have gotten that voter's vote. The stakes are very high,"
The bill requires the person who pays for, sponsors or approves the ad to put in the disclaimer if AI is used, or they would face civil or criminal penalties. The Florida Elections Commission would be responsible for implementing the new rules.
The bill now waits for Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature to become law.
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