Using AI, the opposition in Queensland has made a fake propaganda video of Steven Miles, the Premier of Queensland, dancing to a Ne-Yo song in an effort to sway public opinion and tilt the election.
Last week, the premier uploaded footage of him cooking his lunch on TikTok. This was widely mocked and derided.
The dancing video has ignited a discussion over the political use of deep fakes on the internet.
The video, uploaded five days ago to the Liberal National Party’s TikTok account, shows Miles dancing. The caption says that inflation is impacting Australians, but the premier had the time to make a TikTok sandwich video.
That the video “represents a turning point for our democracy” was Miles’s first remark this morning. He also stated that the state Labor Party will not be using AI-generated ads in this election campaign.
According to communications professor Susan Grantham of Griffith University, the Miles video was only one example of many instances of artificial intelligence (AI) employed by Australian politicians. She mentioned that it had been utilized in other countries since 2022 in Australia and is still in widespread usage today, including Pakistan and the most recent UK election in 2024.
In April, the federal Labor Party produced a video featuring Peter Dutton using artificial intelligence.
Politicians like Miles, who uses comedic videos of himself preparing lunch to project a more relatable image, are particularly vulnerable, according to Grantham, since people are readily deceived by AI-generated material.
According to Patrik Wikstrom of QUT’s digital media research department, AI’s subtle applications pose an even more significant threat. As an example, some international political groups have employed AI to imitate their opponent’s voice and then sent disparaging robocalls to their fans.
A representative from the Queensland Electoral Commission pointed out that current state legislation does not address or even consider the possibility of using AI in political campaigning.
Outside of South Korea, in 2023, the country’s election rules were revised to ban the use of deep fake media in the three months before the vote.
Additionally, Mr. Rogers suggested a code of conduct in which political parties and candidates commit to prominently labeling information generated by artificial intelligence.
Deepfake legislation is presently being considered by parliament by the federal government; however, it is limited to non-consensual x-rated imagery.
