In a recent episode of WILS on July 17th, 2023, the host Mike Austin discussed the growing concern surrounding the AI arms race. Joined by political strategist Raven Harrison, they delved into the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the election process and the potential consequences of its unregulated use in political ads and deep fakes.
WILS July 17th, 2023 with Raven Harrison
During the episode, Mike and Raven highlighted the implications of the AI arms race in politics. They discussed how AI has become deeply integrated into various aspects of our lives, including the automotive industry and political campaigns. The conversation revolved around the lack of oversight from the government and the Federal Elections Commission, particularly regarding the use of AI in political ads and the rise of deep fakes. With AI becoming a significant tool in political content creation, response time has significantly decreased, allowing for immediate criticism and eroding accountability.
Transcript
- Mike Austin: 28 W I L S your Monday coming down air quality alert day. Thank you Canada for bringing us a wildfire smoke is going to be hard to breathe around here today. I don't know that humidity is going to be so heavy, but 78 fairly decent day temperature wise. Nice mix of sun and clouds, more sun than anything today. All right. It seems like every day in some way, shape or form, we talk about AI, whether you're talking about cars or any, anything with your life AI is involved. At least it seems that way. Let's talk about the election process. We were just talking about voter confidence, cynicism when it comes to a government federal elections commission. Uh, basically, I think they said that they're not going to look into or watch, uh, the use of AI in political ads, the deep fakes and stuff like it. So you won't know, uh, what you're watching. If it's true, it's not, and it's hard to tell. It is hard to tell. They call it maybe an AI arms race. Joining us now always on Monday about this time. She is a political strategist. Used to, she ran for Congress was asked to run for Congress. She didn't even have it on a radar screen. They said, no, you run for Congress. You'd be great. She did author of Raven's Mantle, fighting the betrayal of America. Her name is Raven Harrison. And we joined with her right now. Hey, Raven,
- Raven Harrison: good to hear from you. Mike.
- Mike: I am I talking to Raven or is this an AI voice?
- Raven: Um, you know, you never can tell it depends. Seriously, good question.
- Mike: We were just talking about our own state budget with Kyle Malin and the shenanigans going on there. It's our money, people. We're lending it to you. But, and so now it's no wonder we're all cynical about the process and our own government. And now you got this. Is this going to be an AI arms race in 2024?
- Raven: It is. Most certainly is. And we've got some really interesting dynamics to it. Cause it's like you said, it's all about the verbiage of all of this. It is with the, the, the cocaine scandal. They didn't say they, you know, couldn't identify. They said they likely would never be able to identify. It wouldn't.
- Mike: Yeah. Come on.
- Raven: I couldn't. Uh, so this is what we're looking at again. And what people don't understand, they say AI and that they go, I saw a movie about this. It didn't end well. Well, you know what? Not that far. So what we're, we're doing is what does AI mean? It means that pretty much anyone could be a political content creator, which means the response time is going from days to minutes. So, uh, you know, when we were young and somebody roasted you and you're like, man, I had the perfect comeback. You can, you think about it later. Well now they can criticize before you even finish the sentence. So, and that's what happened when Biden announced he was, he was running. The Republican had already an AI generated response out within minutes of his announcement. And that's, uh, something that usually you would have to go to a troll farm or content creators for political campaigns. And now pretty much anyone can do it. Um, that, that tool is available, which is really, really telling for independence and swing voters.
- Mike: And the, I get it. I get it, younger voters there, they get AI, they live it all the time and that, but your middle age, even voter, uh, to elderly voter, which I don't know what the percentages are, but we're in a transitional time, big time in every realm. You thought the sixties were crazy. Everything that you can think of is in transition right now. Seems like, am I just, is it just my perception?
- Raven: No, but not necessarily in a good way.
- MIke: I mean, I'm old. No.
- Raven: Remember when we voted on paper ballots and we knew who the president was that night, uh, now, you know, since we've introduced all of the internet, the technology and all of these things, it's not connected to the internet. It is connected to the internet. Well, just a little bit. Um, you know, this is where we are right now. And so basically this is another layer of taking it away from we, the people. If anybody can do this and remember this is in the era of Mark Zuckerberg putting $400 million into an election and then now the same tech giant, I mean, where's this information, this content coming from? And then they're not regulating it because campaign speech is free speech. So what we're seeing now is people are going to hide in this blanket. And again, you're getting the word salad, White House word salad. Well, we, we won't be looking into that. They're already telling you that we know that there's going to be problems with this, but we're not going to look into it. And that should concern you. This is where we're headed. Less accountability, more anonymity. We don't know where it's coming from. We don't know where our food is coming from. We don't know where information is coming from and what could possibly go wrong.
- Mike: The White House word salad. I love what you said. This is kind of funny. Hey, uh, and this is another problem is that the news cycle works in such a breakneck speed, the cocaine scandal at the White House is almost an old story. Now you start bringing it up and you hear, you get to feel that people are like, yeah, yeah, that was last week. What's now, you know what I mean? And when really, and they'd love you to sweep it under the rug, but really, and I don't want to, you know, move away from the topic of AI, but this still bothers me because cocaine at the White House, they can say, well, you know, it was just in a workplace and it was in this cubby that was way in the back. And you know, it's, it's hard to get an idea. People this is the White House. The people's house. This is the seat of government. And if somebody can get cocaine into the White House, that's a nerving because who knows what else can get in there. If it's true, if they say, well, there's no way we can figure this out or ever will. Isn't that kind of, that's kind of like, yeah, well, isn't that sort of a, you're sort of waving a flag to our enemies going, you know, you can bring whatever you want in here. We're not going to know. Come on.
- Raven: Well, that's pretty much it. I mean, this is like Trump, President Trump said, this is right across from the situation room, heavily surveilled the most, probably the supposed to be the most secure place, you know, in, in the world. This is what decisions about nuclear war and things like that are made. And every elected official who walks through there has to empty their pockets, go through metal detectors. They have facial recognition software, all that AI, all of it. And they're telling you, but we don't know who brought blow into the White House. The rest of us know they're the only ones who don't. We all know who brought it in, but that's where we need to think about our information. We need to really be paying attention. This is not going the right way. And taking it out of the hands of we, the people, we can't sweep these things out of the carpet.
- Mike: She is Raven Harrison. And with us every Monday, it's, it's an interesting, interesting year. And 2024 is going to even get weirder. Hey, Raven, stay in touch and we'll talk next week. All right.
- Raven: Sounds great.
- Mike: Thanks. Raven Harrison. Raven's Mantle is her book. 1320 W I L S. Hey, we're up against news time. We're going to bump into that news and ugly rumors down the hallway. The news.
Wrap-up
Considering the potential ramifications of the AI arms race, caution is crucial. As Raven Harrison pointed out, AI has the power to transform anyone into a political content creator, blurring the lines of authenticity and creating an environment where misinformation can spread rapidly with little accountability. This shift can significantly impact voter confidence, especially among the middle-aged and elderly population, who may not be as familiar with AI technology.
It is imperative that we stay informed and engaged as citizens. The AI arms race demands our attention, as its implications could reshape the democratic process. We must advocate for responsible AI usage, transparency, and regulatory measures to ensure that our elections remain fair, accurate, and representative. Write to your representatives, educate yourself and others about the AI arms race, and support initiatives that promote ethical AI practices. Together, we can safeguard the integrity of our democratic institutions.
As the world hurtles further into the future, it is crucial to maintain a critical eye and address the challenges that emerging technologies like AI present. Only by proactively addressing these concerns can we navigate the evolving landscape and foster a society that benefits from the advancements while preserving the values we hold dear.
