By Bryce Hudson, Southern University student & Louisiana Progress College Fellow

In recent years, political discourse at all levels–national, state, and local–has become toxic in a way we haven’t seen in more than a century. Evolving technology, especially in traditional and social media mediums, has played a major role in fomenting that toxicity, and political campaigns have followed suit. One example is artificial intelligence (AI). As with most technologies, AI has benefits and drawbacks, especially when it comes to how it’s used in media and political campaigns.

A lot of political science scholars refer to democracy in this country as “The American Experiment.” That is an apt way to refer to our American democracy, which has so far stood the test of time. But the success of that experiment is not promised. In the last few years, there have been a multitude of threats that have challenged our resolve as a nation and the very core of many traditional American values. AI, if misused, can be a serious threat to those values.

In New Hampshire in early 2024, a Texas-based company (Life Corp.) deployed the use of AI phone calls in an attempt to impersonate President Biden. The Attorney General issued a cease-and-desist order to curb it. Also, the state’s leadership formed a task force to combat future occurrences of its use in the state as well. 

Another example of the threat that AI poses to American elections is The Lincoln Project’s video ad depicting Donald Trump’s dad seeming to disparage him. The video (AI - Trump's Father) portrays his business dealings as garbage, stating that his children hate him, and that he’s a joke and low rent. That ad is especially concerning, because there was no disclaimer that it was fake. For someone who is not particularly involved in politics, seeing something like that is troubling. It causes a disconnect and promulgates voter misinformation. 

As it relates to the home front, the use of AI has not been widespread in Louisiana to date, but it was used against former Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins in his race against the U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy.

Many governments are attempting to legislate AI so that it doesn’t pose that kind of threat. For example, the Washington state legislature recently passed a bill (SB 5152) to ensure that future elections there are largely protected from the misuse of AI. This law lays an excellent foundation for what other states could implement, including Louisiana. 

In 2024, it’s critical that the Louisiana legislature address AI and implement the appropriate measures to safeguard our elections from bad actors inside and out of the state. Rep. Mandie Landry’s legislation (HB 154) is a great start at protecting the democratic process in Louisiana going forward.

State politics have always played a significant role in my life, especially as a Baton Rouge native. The Louisiana Progress fellowship has afforded me the opportunity to work on projects that will impact the lives of myself and all Louisiana residents, including artificial intelligence in our political process. I would hate to see this technology misused or abused in a way that would further undermine people’s trust in our political system and breed even more toxicity in our politics and culture.