OHIO — Artificial intelligence is already making an impact in the world of political advertisements.

It’s expected to pose challenges for voters ahead of the 2024 election cycle.

What You Need To Know

• Experts believe AI-generated political ads will make it harder to distinguish between what’s true or not about candidates 


• Voters will probably see more candidate messaging within ads that contain candidate approval tags on the end of ads 


• Before heading to the polls, voters are still encouraged to make sure they know what they candidates stand for 

Dr. Rob McDole, director for the Center of Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University, said since there’s already a challenge with misinformation and disinformation, especially with social media, it’ll be harder to decipher what’s real and what is not, with political ads using AI.

He said candidates may do more to stand out.

“I think candidates are going to want to make sure that people know it’s them,” McDole said. “And so you know, those little phrases I’m so and so candidate and I approve of this message… I think we’re gonna see things to a higher degree. What that looks like, to this point, is not clear, but I think it’s going to push candidates to want to do this.”

Although the 2024 presidential election is just under one year away, it’s not clear how candidates and voters will respond as more AI-generated ads appear in the coming months.

For now, McDole is encouraging voters to “know what your candidate stands for.” 

“And also know that not everything you hear or see is actually true,” he said. “So always take it back to the primary source if you can, and let that guide your decision-making when you go to the polls.”