AEC warns it doesn’t have power to deter AI-generated political misinformation at next election

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has expressed concerns about the potential for AI-generated misinformation in the upcoming federal election, including deepfakes and voice clones of political figures. The AEC warned that it lacks the legislative tools and technical capability to detect or deter such content. The report highlights global examples of AI misuse in elections and calls for measures like mandatory watermarking of AI-generated content, digital literacy campaigns, and stronger platform codes. The AEC also raised concerns about privacy risks from AI technologies like biometric and facial recognition.