Meta will require political campaigns to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in political ads, a new policy that could shape how the new technology is used in the 2024 elections.
The Wednesday announcement, first reported by Reuters on Monday, states that the policy is meant to “help people understand when a social issue, election, or political advertisement on Facebook or Instagram has been digitally created or altered, including through the use of AI.” It goes into effect next year and will be required globally.
The policy comes about a year after the public release of ChatGPT, an AI language model that wowed users with its ability to write memos, essays, and even poetry following a user’s prompt. Meanwhile, AI-enabled image modifiers are exploding in use on social media.
The 2024 U.S. presidential election could present an early test of how platforms will police the use of AI in political advertising, given that fake social media accounts and other forms of disinformation are already widespread. The new policy also comes after the Biden administration announced last week a sweeping executive order to regulate AI.
This is consistent with the focus on disclosure and self-policing of election-related content that I advocate for in my Cheap Speech book (paperback edition out Nov. 21!).