On Wednesday, March 9, the former prosecutor of South Korea was elected to be the 13th president. While this was an election that was on the other side of the world, the events leading up to the election of the new president can be indicative of the future here in the states. What made this election in Korea to be especially particular would be the emerging use of AI in presidential campaigns.
On January 1st, the campaigning team behind the conservative elect Yoon Sook Yeol (13th President of South Korea) launched a digital image and version of the elect to Korean Social Media. The digital version of the Korean elect entailed the use of Artificial intelligence and the emerging Deepfake technology to create an avatar that is named AI Yoon. The Algorithmically generated avatar can then be altered to move, and talk in certain ways, allowing the south Korean voters online to interact directly with the Artificial avatar. Accordingly, “More than 80 clips of Mr. Yoon’s digital self have been shared on social media, attracting more than 70,000 comments since making a debut in January.” (WSJ). By connecting a digital avatar onto social media, many claim that the conservative elect was successfully able to capture the attention of the younger audience that was mainly on social media, effectively capturing the swing voters in the 13th election.
Aside from merely answering online questions regarding his political policies, the voter team behind AI Yoon also answered questions about pop culture, daily errands, etc. To make matters more interesting, the scriptwriters behind the artificial avatar also made sure to answer these questions using online friendly meme-friendly lingo. The Artificial Conservative avatar also engaged in satirical comments, danced to popular K-Pop songs whilst online, and even “taken swipes at feminism” to target the younger male audience online. As it seems, AI Yoon is not really formal in regards to politics, and as the director behind AI Yoon quotes, "If we had only produced politically correct statements, we would not have this reaction," said Baik Kyeong-hoon, Director of the AI Yoon team. "The political establishment has been too slow in the face of a fast-changing society." (DeepFake Verse). In other words, AI Yoon’s focus was nothing political, and everything marketable.
This aspect of the 13th election in Korea (where marketing the elect is placed higher than politics) is highly reminiscent of the televised 1960 presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy. In these debates, it was highly noted that the dapper, witty, and cool appearance of Kennedy was more appealing than the “dodgy” appearance that Nixon had. This debate marked a shift in how politicians running for presidency need to alter their physical appearance, demeanor, and behaviors to be more suitable for the televised media. In a similar manner, the election in Korea also marks a shift in how future presidents will likely market themselves, especially adapting to the newer medium that is social media.
Bearing all of this in mind, the future of election and politics here in the states is not so far off from the dystopian election seen in Korea. As it is quite common for politicians, intellectuals, and public figures to exchange ideas, remarks, and even jeers at each other on Twitter. However, it is only a matter of when the deepfakes to the scale of the Korean election will be used in the states, as well as questioning whether or not such campaigning tactics should ever be used in democratic elections.
This is dystopian and frightening. I have been worried about deepfake and AI technology, and this is proof that my worries were correct. Digital versions of real people that are controlled by AI could lead to so much discord in society. Winning elections based on a robot that acts like you, and not your real self, is terrifying.
While I absolutely empathize with the idea that most (if not all) politicians are terrible when it comes to connecting to younger voting bases, I do find it worrying that this particular campaign wraps that concept in "Culture War" language. I don't think a necessary part of appearing "hip" to kids is bashing feminism, just attempting to genuinely connect to their daily struggles is enough. Political correctness can come off as irritating to some but I believe that comes from the appearance of career politicians not genuinely believing in it and treating it as a way to score easy PR points. There was nothing wrong with the political correctness of Bernie Sanders's political campaign because it genuinely appeared he held…
Great post! Even with social media sometimes news from other countries can be buried within the issues we have in the United States. Before this post, I was not aware that AI is now being used during political campaigns. During campaigns it is really a chance for the potential political figure to get personal with their supporters, but this AI seems like it would not work so I’m surprised this AI responded well with voters.
Super interesting post. We all know that this type of technology exists but hearing about it being used to influence a real political election is mind blowing. I also wonder whether this technology will ever be allowed in the US for election usage. It is quite possible that this technology could be misused to gain approval from younger audiences without them fully understanding the goals and ideals of a certain politician. Still it is shocking to see all of the different ways technology is impacting our society.