AI is helping shape the 2024 presidential race. But not in the way experts feared

https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intellgence-memes-trump-harris-deepfakes-256282c31fa9316c4059f09036c70fa9

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  1. >WASHINGTON (AP) — With the 2024 election looming, the first since the mass popularization of generative artificial intelligence, [experts feared the worst](https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-misinformation-deepfakes-2024-election-trump-59fb51002661ac5290089060b3ae39a0): social media flooded with [AI-generated deepfakes](https://apnews.com/article/one-tech-tip-spotting-deepfakes-ai-8f7403c7e5a738488d74cf2326382d8c) that were so realistic, baffled voters wouldn’t know what to believe.

    >So far, that hasn’t happened. Instead, what voters are seeing is far more absurd: A video of former President Donald Trump riding a cat while wielding an assault rifle. A mustachioed Vice President Kamala Harris dressed in communist attire. Trump and Harris sharing a passionate embrace.

    >AI is playing a major role in the presidential campaign, even if the greatest fears about how it could threaten the U.S. presidential election haven’t materialized yet. [Fake AI-generated images](https://apnews.com/article/trump-taylor-swift-fake-endorsement-ai-fec99c412d960932839e3eab8d49fd5f) regularly ricochet around the web, but many of them are so cartoonish and absurd that even the most naïve viewer couldn’t take them seriously.

    >Still, even these memes can be problematic. Eye-catching AI-generated photos and videos, some striving to be funny, have become useful tools for spreading false, sometimes racist messages with a clear political bent — and candidates and their supporters are among those sharing them on social media…