Ahead of Bihar polls, ECI warns parties against using AI-generated content

The Election Commission on Friday asked all political parties to label AI-generated content, disclose creators, and remove misleading material within three hours ahead of Bihar Assembly polls

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday issued a strong advisory on the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content during elections, cautioning political parties against its misuse to influence voters and warning them that doing so would violate the integrity of the campaigning process.

 

The announcement comes barely a fortnight before the Bihar Assembly elections, which are scheduled to take place on November 6 and 11, with results to be announced on November 14.

 

The commission noted the misuse of “hyper-realistic synthetically generated information, including depicting political leaders making electorally sensitive messages,” which it said “is contaminating the level playing field in the electoral arena and disrupting fair and equal conditions for all political participants". 

 

 

The ECI also directed all political parties to use a clear label saying 'AI-Generated', 'Digitally Enhanced', or 'Synthetic Content' for any synthetically-generated or AI-altered image, audio, or video used for campaigning. The label must carry at least 10 per cent of the visible display area or initial duration for audio.

 

It added that the content must also disclose the name of the entity responsible for its generation in its metadata or accompanying captions. The Election Commission also said that no content may unlawfully misrepresent a person’s identity, appearance, or voice in a way likely to mislead voters. Any violations detected on official party handles must be removed within three hours, and parties must maintain internal records of all AI-generated campaign material for verification, the ECI added.

 

The electoral body also reminded all political parties to ensure compliance under the Information Technology (IT) rules 2021 while posting any such content.

 

This is not the first time the poll body has issued such directions. It had also released similar advisories for political organisations earlier this month, earlier this year, and last year, in view of the rising number of deepfake cases.