In November, an important decision for our country will occur. Either Republican candidate Donald Trump or Democratic candidate Kamala Harris will be elected to be the President of the United States for the next four years. While voting for the presidential election has been complicated in the past, it has become even more so with the presence of Artificial Intelligence. AI is a field of computer science that enables machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. It is used heavily by humans today through social media, healthcare, education, finance and more. In this year’s election, AI could play a significant role through social media.

AI uses what an individual looks at and determines the individual’s preferences and interests.
Social media algorithms are created by using complex mathematical formulas that analyze people’s behavior, preferences and past interactions to determine which content is relevant and entertaining. If the site has a ‘like’ button, then the algorithm will recommend other posts similar to what the individual has liked in the past.

Social media algorithms will have a major impact on the upcoming election in November. Engineers who control algorithms can program the software so that if someone shows any interest in a particular candidate, then their feed will be filled with similar content about that candidate. Although engineers made them, AI runs itself, learns from our requests and will continuously gain intelligence as time goes on.

“I get random political ads on my Instagram because I looked up one of the candidates, now I get a lot of stuff I don´t care about,” junior Drake Haun said.

A study was conducted at the University of Texas at Austin to figure out the role of social media in the 2020 election. They discovered that while algorithms themselves can´t solely determine people’s political attitudes, they can sway opinions toward candidates through their knowledge of what you do online.

“When I look up anything political on any social media site, the site thinks automatically that I´m super into politics and that candidate when I am not. I was just trying to see a fact about a candidate,” Haun said.

AI has come a long way since 2020, with the launch of AI apps such as ChatGPT and Google AI. Many social media apps are starting to implement their own AI options into their systems. Snapchat created Snapchat AI which appears at the top of the chats page, and Instagram implemented Meta AI right by the search bar. These chatbots have all the features of regular AI, where users can have conversations with AI and ask AI questions.

“I think Snapchat AI and Meta AI are helpful and useful when you are confused or need to ask a question, but they are also creepy because they learn more about you the more you [interact with] them. I use them to help me with classes and to help me understand what’s happening sometimes,” sophomore Connor Grant said.

AI also has the ability to create something called deepfakes, which are pieces of media that are manipulated by AI to appear real. Earlier this year, AI imitated Joe Biden’s voice, targeting New Hampshire voters and discouraging them from voting in the primary. This happens all the time not only for elections but also for sports, internet personalities and more. Deepfake tools are becoming more accessible, creating they pose a very urgent and potentially dangerous threat to the election.

“Deepfakes are a problem because part of the problem is [that] we don´t know all [it] can do yet, and AI companies just put them out there. It feels like we put out a tool and now we are playing catch up to understand it.” history and government teacher Mel Trotier said.

As AI is used more and more, its power and understanding of our world and us as humans has and will keep increasing. With the significance of the presidential election, social media will continue to cover it constantly, adapting through its AI software and algorithms.

“AI is understanding our world and who we are better every time we talk to it. Even a simple search on Instagram or TikTok of a political candidate can make their feed start to transform to political ads for that candidate,” Trotier said.