This week’s election announcement has set all political parties firmly into campaign mode and over the next 40 days the public will be weighing up who will get their vote on 4th July.
This democratic moment, however, will take place against the backdrop of a new and largely untested threat; generative-AI. In the lead up to the election, the strength of our electoral integrity is likely to be tested by the spread of AI-generated content and deepfakes – an issue that over 60% of the public are concerned about, according to recent Demos and Full Fact polling.
Our new paper takes a look at the near and long-term solutions at our disposal for bolstering the resilience of our democratic institutions amidst the modern technological age. We explore the top four pressing mechanisms by which generative-AI challenges the stability of democracy, and how to mitigate them.
Last month, Demos, alongside key partners, issued an Open Letter calling on all UK political parties to form a cross-party agreement on their responsible use of generative AI ahead of the election. The open letter is backed by trusted organisations such as Full Fact and the Electoral Reform Society, leading universities, and key figures including Martin Lewis, Founder and Chair of Money Saving Expert and the Money and Mental Policy Institute (MMHPI), and Wikipedia Founder, Jimmy Wales.
Read the full Open Letter here.