Governments Crack Down on AI Deepfakes as Election and Safety Fears Mount

Governments Crack Down on AI Deepfakes as Election and Safety Fears Mount A global regulatory push is targeting the dangerous misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) to create deceptive "deepfake" videos and images, driven by incidents of political manipulation and personal exploitation. South Korea has enacted the world's first comprehensive AI safety law, placing direct legal responsibility on developers and service providers to prevent harmful AI-generated content like deepfakes and misinformation [55923]. The move follows a separate probe by South Korean regulators into Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, over allegations it can generate sexually exploitative deepfake images [58673]. The urgency for such measures is underscored by real-world incidents. In Nepal, a deepfake video falsely showing three top political figures forming an alliance spread online ahead of national elections, threatening to mislead voters and distort democratic debate [57866]. Experts warn this is a preview of a larger threat. A consortium of researchers, including Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, has warned that swarms of AI bots could be deployed to sabotage the 2028 U.S. presidential election by imitating humans and infesting social media [56357]. In response, nations are scrambling to craft defenses. India has proposed new rules requiring technology companies to identify and remove deepfake content from their platforms, part of a global effort to control AI-generated misinformation [12872]. The technical and social challenges of enforcement, however, remain significant. The Dutch selection of "hallucineren" (to hallucinate) as the 2023 Word of the Year reflects growing public awareness of AI's capacity to generate convincing falsehoods, a core function in creating deceptive media [27480]. As these tools become more accessible, the race between their misuse and effective governance intensifies. World's First AI Safety Law Enacted, Targets Deepfakes and Misinformation South Korea Probes Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Over Deepfake Porn Fake Leaders, Real Fear: AI Deepfakes Target Nepal Election AI Bot Swarms Could Sabotage 2028 U.S. Election, Experts Warn India Proposes New Rules to Combat Deepfake Threat AI "Hallucinates" Its Way to Dutch Word of the Year