Eleanor Campbell, Federal Political Reporter from the Canberra Press Gallery, quoted me several times in a piece featured in News.Com.Au
“. . . With Australia heading into its own national vote by May 2025, the likelihood of deep fake content being used to manipulate opinion and erode public trust has never been more apparent, according to University of Sydney generative AI ethics researcher Rebecca Johnson.
“You can make deep fakes of a politician saying something to put them in a scandalous position, but on a more insidious level, deep fakes can be used to create a fake voice of someone that you might trust,” Ms Johnson said.
. . .
“I don’t think Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton are going to go and do this, but because this technology is so accessible, people who might be diehard supporters of one party of the other who are stuck on a particular view could definitely use this technology.”
. . .
Ms Johnson said given the “extreme” acceleration of AI technologies the government must consider banning the use of AI-generated chatbots in political campaigns.
“We’re talking about the upholding of our democracy so this isn’t a Labor, Greens or Nationals issue – this is an Australian issue” she said.
“We also need to invest heavily in both public education and school programs so we can bring people up to speed on these dangers.”