Concerns over UK's readiness for deepfake-enabled general election

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been used to manipulate elections worldwide, and there are concerns that the UK may be next. Former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland is urging the government to take action against this "clear and present danger" to UK democracy. He is particularly concerned about the rise of deepfakes, which are realistic audio and video clips of politicians saying things they never actually said. Buckland argues that this threat to democracy is not a distant future possibility, but is already happening. He fears that the next general election in the UK could face disruption similar to what was seen in the 2017 campaign after the Manchester Arena bombing. The UK government has launched a Defending Democracy Taskforce to protect elections from foreign interference, but Buckland believes more needs to be done. The National Cyber Security Centre warns that the availability of powerful AI tools has made it easier to create convincing fake content. Recent examples include an audio clip of UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer verbally abusing aides, and a fake audio clip of London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Buckland's nightmare scenario is a deepfake clip of a party leader emerging right before polling day in a closely-fought election. Several recent elections around the world have already shown the impact of AI-generated images and audio on election outcomes. Buckland is calling on the government to strengthen regulator Ofcom's monitoring of misinformation and provide clearer guidance to social media firms. The UK government is working with social media companies and international allies to combat the AI threat. However, it remains challenging to prove beyond doubt that a clip is fake, given the constant advancement of AI technology. Some argue that deepfakes should be made illegal, while others believe in technology that can detect and neutralize them. However, experts warn that even if deepfakes are clearly labeled, the flood of synthetic content on social media could lead to voter confusion and a lack of trust in the political process. The challenge will be to prevent this from happening in future elections.