ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A campaign ad featuring the likeness of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is raising questions about the ethics of using emerging technology in elections.
The ad, run by Congressman Mike Collins, a Republican challenging Ossoff for his seat in next year’s midterms, features a striking likeness of Ossoff speaking directly to the camera.
“I just voted to keep the government shutdown,” Ossoff’s likeness said in the ad. “They say it’ll hurt farmers, but I wouldn’t know. I’ve only seen a farm on Instagram.”
The ad doesn’t violate state or federal laws, and includes a small disclaimer on the bottom of the screen, but is sparking conversations about the responsible use of new technology, especially in appeals to voters.
When asked about it, Collins defended his campaign’s use of Ossoff’s AI likeness.
“Our team is doing it just like the White House. Just like everybody else out there,” said Collins. “You’re not going to stop technology. Just embrace it and go with it. It’s going to be the way you see things go from now on.”
In a statement, the Democratic Party of Georgia called the move “low integrity” and Ossoff’s team also responded to the ad on Tuesday.
“The only reason a candidate would need to use a deepfake to make up an opponent’s words and manipulate a video to deceive Georgians is if they didn’t think they could win on their own,” said a campaign spokesperson for Ossoff. “Georgians don’t take well to people who lie to them.”
The ad raises complicated questions about artificial intelligence, free speech and political decorum.
Georgia lawmakers, seeing the rise of technology in campaigning, raised those very questions last year when they put forth bills that would tether criminal charges to the intentional use of AI to deceive voters within 90-days of an election.
Senate Bill 9, which passed with bi-partisan support, carries prison time and felony charges for those who knowingly create artificial intelligence campaign material without disclaimers within that window.
The disclaimer must include notations of the name of each person who is being impersonated, that events depicted may not have actually occurred, and that artificial intelligence was used to make part or all of the content of the campaign advertisement. The bill passed in 2025.
State Rep. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) helped craft the legislation and is also the sponsor of House Bill 171, which passed the House in 2025 but is still awaiting approval by the Senate. It too deals with the use of AI in the context of child sexually explicit material.
Thomas has also endorsed Collins for Senate.
“The Ossoff video to me is clearly a satire,” Thomas said. “The crux of that bill is intent to deceive, and when you put a stamp on it that says it’s AI generated, at that point you’re not attempting to deceive anybody. I don’t always love it, but it’s okay. We’re going to have to accept that as part of the political process.”
But some voters are worried about the precedent set by using AI generated content in campaign ads.
Jimmy Schapp teaches computer technology at Atlanta Public Schools. While he could spot the campaign ad as a deep fake, he’s worried some younger – and especially older, less tech savvy voters – may not be able to make out the difference.
“The first thing I thought was, there’s going to be a lot of the electorate that aren’t going to recognize this as a deep fake,” Schapp said. “You’re misleading folks in a way that’s not just dishonest, its’ morally and ethically wrong.”
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