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Author	Assoc Prof Dr Jaspal Kaur Sadhu Singh
Organisation/Institution	Canterbury Christ Church University
Country	UNITED KINGDOM
Panel	Information Technology Law
Title	Enhancing Electoral Integrity and Democracy: Recommendations for Legal Measures to Address the Challenges of AI-generated Content
Abstract	In democracies, citizens' right to vote is the cornerstone of free and fair elections. Concerns of AI-generated content derailing this right undermine trust in the election process. Political deepfakes, resulting from the most common misuse of generative AI, lead to misinformation and disinformation. These fake images, audio, and/or video are shaping and influencing public opinion, with fears of influencing and having influenced elections. The urgency of this issue is underscored by the fact that 2024 has been identified as a landmark election year globally. The implications of generative AI tools, particularly 'Everyday AI,' have raised concerns. The ubiquity of generative AI tools has led to fears of distorting reality with inaccuracies, including hallucinations in images, audio, and videos entering the public realm. There are concerns that audiences may be unable to discern these 'fakes’ from authentic content. This research delves into how AI influences voting and electoral outcomes by examining global incidents from recent elections in Pakistan, India, the UK, and, recently, the United States. The research has revealed that while Generative AI has the potential to enhance voter engagement through tailored communication (as per UNESCO’s Guide for Electoral Practitioners), its ability to craft deepfake content is leading to the spread of mis(dis)information. There is a significant gap in the current system, as there is a lack of comprehensive guidance, policies, and electoral laws to address the erosion of public trust in the electoral process. This research aims to provide solutions at a national level to safeguard the electoral process for the future. This involves several recommendations, namely, ensuring the origin of content is known to counteract mis(dis)information, which includes informing end users about the source and any alterations made to digital content; labelling AI-generated content (content credentials); and enacting electoral laws to regulate the use of deepfakes and other synthetic media in political communications. This consideration will also highlight significant challenges of using content provenance tools that label content, including the problems associated with determining ‘truth’.
Biography	Jaspal’s current research interest is in the area of legal and ethical debates involving AI governance, including information and communication technology law-related challenges perambulating freedom of thought, speech and expression.    She is currently working on creating a guide to enhance legal literacy in the use of generative AI tools in teaching and learning. Her teaching has focussed on ICT & E-commerce Law and Data Governance Law, and she currently teaches AI Governance: Law and Policy in the LLM programme at CCCU. Jaspal is a recipient of two grants in 2021 as a Lead Researcher. The MCMC awarded her the Digital Society Research Grant (DSRG) to develop ‘Recommendations for the creation of a governance framework for the protection of personal data used in the development of AI systems’ and by the Ministry of Higher Education, with the prestigious Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) for the research project ‘Aligning a national AI ethics framework with Malaysian values to govern the development and deployment of trustworthy and responsible AI systems in Malaysia’. Jaspal and her research collaborator developed the first Malaysia AI Ethics Index 2021, cited in the Malaysia AI Blueprint 2021. To raise awareness of AI, Law, and Ethics, Jaspal contributes op-eds as an expert commentator on the Canterbury Christ Church University Blog and University of Monash’s 360 info, including carrying out speaking engagements, and published a series in the articles section of the Malayan Law Journal. Her recent publications in 2023 include a book chapter titled “The Values of an AI Ethical Framework for a Developing Nation: Considerations for Malaysia” in the Handbook on Regulating AI and Big Data in Emergent Economies (Elgar Publishing) Jaspal is also a subject matter expert invited to participate in the work around AI and is a member of the Working Committee on AI Governance and Ethics, part of the AI National Roadmap of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.  She is an Academic and Industry Expert for the MCMC Academy, Malaysia.  Jaspal contributed to the Malaysian ‘National Guidelines on AI Governance & Ethics for Responsible AI (AIGE), published in September 2024; and the AI Impact and Governance Research Project at Khazanah Research Institute (KRI, Malaysia) (Contributor and Expert Reviewer, 2024).