A video shared online has seemingly confirmed a total ban on gambling advertising announced with the voice and face of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
But the video is a complete fabrication, a “deepfake” made using artificial intelligence by independent senator David Pocock.
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Senator Pocock created the video, as well as one using Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, in a warning to politicians of how easy it can be to fake their likeness.
Posting the videos to social media on Saturday, he stressed there were just five weeks left for parliament to push through laws banning the use of AI in election materials, or else risk becoming victims of deepfakes like those he has made.
“Now is the time for the government to act to safeguard our democracy and ensure elections are fought and won as a contest of ideas, not on the basis of who can produce the best deepfakes or tell the most convincing lies,” Senator Pocock said.
“Time is fast running out to regulate this before Australians return to the polls.”
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Senator Pocock said the clips were fairly easy to make, and they were bound to feature in the next election.
“These are pretty low-budget videos, and so in an election campaign, I’m sure you’ll see much higher-quality videos,” he said.
The video is likely to prompt ire, targeting Mr Albanese over a topic that has caused turmoil within the Labor Party.
The government has repeatedly delayed the introduction of legislation to curb the influence of gambling advertising after a backbench revolt over its plans to water down recommendations for a total gambling ad ban.
The issue of deepfakes at elections has become more prominent as more generative AI tools have become freely available and easily accessible.
Overseas, a deepfake recording caused controversy two days before Slovakia’s last general election, which appeared to show the country’s Progressive Party leader discussing how he had compromised the integrity of Slovakia’s election.
A spokesperson for Special Minister of State Don Farrell said the government was considering the advice of the Australian Electoral Commission on regulating the use of AI in elections.
“This is not technology we can stop — it is not going away,” Senator Farrell’s office said.
“We have to find a way where Australians can have some protection from deliberately false information and content.”
The government is working on a package of electoral reforms at present, but it will primarily deal with donations reform and campaign financing, not AI.
Some experts have questioned how easy a ban would be to implement, particularly in just a few months.
Dr Andrew Hughes, from ANU’s Research School of Management, said a ban could be hard to enforce, particularly if it was reacting to content already published.
“All they’re doing basically is responding to what content is already before our eyes and not preventing it from getting there in there in the first place,” he said.
