Advocacy groups including Common Cause weighed in with support for the FCC proposal. “This rulemaking is welcome news as the use of deceptive AI and deepfakes threaten our democracy and is already being used to erode trust in our institutions and our elections,” Common Cause media and democracy program director Ishan Mehta said in a statement. “We have seen the impact of AI in politics in the form of primary ads using AI voices and images, and in robocalls during the primary in New Hampshire.” Mehta added, “We urge Congress and other agencies like the Federal Election Commission to follow the FCC’s lead and take proactive steps to protect our democracy from very serious threat posed by AI.”

We know that we can address the threat of AI-generated disinformation with common sense reforms. But, at the same time, we cannot rest on our laurels and expect the government to work everything out. We need to come together as informed and concerned citizens of this state to show our legislators that we want them to act now to ensure that this technology doesn’t negatively impact our democracy and elections.