Uncertainty Over Whether ‘Deepfakes’ Will Be Allowed at the Next Australian Election

The inability of the Senate Inquiry into Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to agree on recommendations to Parliament has left open the possibility that “deepfake” ads could be screened in the lead-up to the next federal election. Four of the six members disagreed with the Committee’s interim report, issuing two dissenting reports. The official report contains five recommendations, including that the government implement “voluntary codes relating to watermarking and credentialling of AI-generated content” before the next election. The potential introduction of mandatory codes would be explored, with the aim of having them in place two elections from now. In one of the dissenting reports, Inquiry Deputy Chair Greens Senator David Shoebridge said the recommendations would allow deepfake political ads to “mislead voters or damage candidates’ reputations” in the period before the next election because the interim report failed to propose the “urgent remedies” needed to protect the democratic process....