The warning was launched by one of the eight candidates for the presidency of Ecuador: his vote was replicated using artificial intelligence (AI) and he fears the use of this technology to manipulate and influence voters.

Not only should he be concerned about this issue, but all the candidates and the National Electoral Council (CNE) itself. In an ideal world, agreements could be reached that AI is not used within the process under any circumstances, but this will depend on the will, ethics and values ​​of the applicants, promoters and strategists. There are no tangible guarantees.

Could artificial intelligence influence the election on August 20, 2023? This is how the experts see it

In Ecuador, as in many countries, there is no law that specifically regulates the use of artificial intelligence. With this in mind, analysts warn of the risk of being used in the pre-election campaign to influence citizens’ decisions.

The Vice President of the CNE, Enrique Pita, confirmed to this newspaper that the Code of Democracy does not envisage AI, but only the control of election advertising.

Artificial intelligence and human rights

“The perverse use of artificial intelligence to harm (the candidate), if it’s used on social media and all that, is unfortunately not under the control of the CNE as election advertising,” the official said verbatim.

The calendar for the August 20, 2023 elections is ongoing, and the reform of the Democracy Code to take into account new technologies could only be implemented in the future and depending on the political will of the moment.

survive the changes

Today, citizens will be the ones who will have to carefully choose the sites from which they receive information, evaluate them and not be victims of fraud or unscrupulous strategists.

In addition to the absence of legal tools, due to its role as the defender of democracy, the CNE must seek mechanisms to – as far as possible – avoid any threat to the elections for which it promised transparency from the day they were called. Technology can be used well and transparently or badly and unethically, let’s hope candidates opt for the first option. (OR)