Janet Coats Comments on the Use of Fake AI Images in Political Campaigns

Janet Coats, managing director of UF’s Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, is quoted in “DeSantis Campaign’s Use of Fake Images Against Trump Part of AI ‘Arms Race’” published in the Tampa Bay Times on June 14.

The article focuses on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political campaign’s apparent use of fake, artificial intelligence-generated photos of former President Donald Trump hugging and kissing Anthony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to the president. The images have raised concerns among experts about the new technology’s ability to deceive voters.

“The line between real and fake was blurrier with the fake photos of Trump kissing Fauci. And that could happen more and more in the future,” said Coats. “Generative AI will become more common, sophisticated and difficult to separate from real life as the technology improves and the 2024 election approaches.”

“We are going to be in an arms race until November 2024,” said Coats. “Right now, people have their toe in the water, but as they see what it can do, I think there’ll be more and more of it.”

She adds, “Although the public knows that AI-generated images and audio exist, the risk is that, as the technology improves and becomes more common, such content could become ‘visual clutter’ that people don’t take in or look at critically. If there’s so much of it that you can no longer discern easily that this is not real, it gets really, really complicated.”

Posted: June 29, 2023
Category: AI at CJC News, College News, Trust News
Tagged as: Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, Janet Coats