The Oct. 27 episode, “Artificial Intelligence in Elections,” examined concerns surrounding AI-generated campaign advertisements, deepfakes and the potential for misleading content to influence voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Pate McMichael, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition and instructor of journalism at 鶹Ƶ, joined WFAE’s Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins for a discussion about the growing influence of artificial intelligence on political campaigns and elections.
The Oct. 27 episode, “Artificial Intelligence in Elections,” examined concerns surrounding AI-generated campaign advertisements, deepfakes and the potential for misleading content to influence voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“These ads are supposed to be educational in nature; that’s the whole reason why the Supreme Court has unleashed this amount of money into our elections, the idea we need more information,” said McMcMichael. “These ads often leave you scratching your head thinking, ‘What? Can that be true?’ Is this accurate?’ And so I think more than ever people would like to see more transparency around these ads.”
The discussion also explored efforts to regulate AI in political advertising. While 31 states have enacted some form of regulation governing AI in political campaigns, North Carolina has yet to adopt similar legislation despite multiple attempts by state lawmakers. Part of those regulations includes disclosing if an ad features AI.
“If it’s more transparency, why not require it?,” said McMichael. “We’re seeing that in Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Texas; a lot of states require those types of disclosures; they’re written differently. But essentially, why not give us a little more insight into how the ad was made and also who funded (it) … because we really don’t have strong transparency around who’s funding any online or social media … ads either.”
McMichael joined Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history at Catawba College, and Scott Brennan, director of New York University’s Center on Technology Policy, for the conversation about emerging technology, political communication and election integrity.