Artificial intelligence has yet to affect election results
Artificial intelligence has not yet changed election results
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Artificial intelligence has yet to affect election results
Artificial intelligence has not yet had a decisive influence on election results, according to researchers in Switzerland who analysed this year's elections in almost 100 countries.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Künstliche Intelligenz verändert Wahlergebnisse bisher nicht
Original
However, the spread of content manipulated with artificial intelligence (AI) has further divided political opinion and created a climate of mistrust, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) wrote in a press release on the report on Tuesday.
For example, AI-manipulated videos, known as deepfakes, have been used in elections in several countries, it said. In the report, the EPFL researchers cite the 2023 elections in Switzerland, in which parliamentarian Andreas Glarner created a deepfake video of his political rival Sibel Arslan, as an example of this. Another example, according to the report, is Donald Trump’s repeated claim that all negative reports about him are deepfakes.
In India, a deepfake video of Bollywood star Aamir Khan was used during the 2024 elections, falsely showing his support for a political party. In Indonesia, videos emerged in which a dead politician addressed voters.
Manipulation simplified
The use of manipulated content for propaganda purposes is nothing new, the researchers emphasised. However, AI has made it much easier to create and distribute manipulated images and content, which accelerates the spread of political propaganda and increases the risk of disinformation.
The analysis was carried out by researchers from the Initiative for Media Innovation (IMI) and published in the initiative’s magazine Décryptage.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Over a quarter of Swiss Catholics consider leaving the church
This content was published on
In Switzerland 27% of Catholics have thought about leaving the church, according to a survey by the Sotomo research centre.
This content was published on
Following the Credit Suisse debacle, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is adapting its organisation.
This content was published on
The Swiss Armed Forces are training their fighter jets in Bern to fly from a civilian base. The exercise at Bern Airport will last until Wednesday.
Plans materialise for new particle accelerator in Geneva
This content was published on
Preparations for a huge new particle accelerator in Geneva have reached a milestone. After several years of work, a feasibility study for the project has now been finalised.
This content was published on
The value of frozen Russian assets in Switzerland currently stands at CHF7.4 billion ($8.4 billion), the Swiss government announced on Tuesday.
This content was published on
The number of business start-ups in Switzerland accelerated in the first three months of the year, with entrepreneurs being particularly dynamic in Central Switzerland, Basel and Geneva.
Most Swiss authorities want to ban Nazi symbols in public
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss political parties, cantons and associations want to ban the use and distribution of Nazi symbols in public.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.