The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) appealed for the prohibition of the use of artificial intelligence or AI and deepfakes in campaigns next year.
In a letter to the Commission en Banc on Tuesday, COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia underscored the harm that could arise should such technology be abused.
"A growing concern among several election management experts in various jurisdictions is the threat of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and 'deepfake' to sow deceit and misinformation between and among voters and candidates for elections.
"The abuse of AI technology and 'deepfake' videos undermines the integrity of elections and the credibility of public officials, candidates, and election management authorities," Garcia asserted.
When interviewed, Garcia reiterated his sentiments on the matter.
"Dapat 'yung makatotohanang kampanya. Kukumbinsihin ko po ang ating Commission en Banc [na] ipagbawal namin sa campaign ang paggamit ng deepfakes at tsaka po AI, sapagkat madami pong nalilito, madaming misrepresentation, madaming hindi po makatotohanan na nangyayari kapagka ginagamit po iyan," he stressed.
["We should have an honest campaign. I will convince our Commission en Banc to ban the use of deepfakes as well as AI for the campaigns as there are many who become confused, there are a lot of misrepresentations, a lot of falsehoods generated when these are used."]
Sen. Win Gatchalian agreed this issue is a serious one in the country, and said COMELEC must be swift in tackling this "moving target."
"Ang AI ngayon is a moving target. Every day, nage-evolve ang AI. Kaya dapat ang regulator na tulad ng COMELEC ay mabilis rin, pinag-aaralan nila ano yung application," he advised.
["AI now is a moving target. It evolves every day. So regulators like COMELEC have to be fast, have to be studying how it is being applied."]
Gatchalian also emphasized that a clear delineation of what can and cannot be done should be made.
Scamwatch Pilipinas Co-convenor Art Samaniego judges that committing to educate voters on disinformation generated by AI is necessary, but if COMELEC wishes to target AI, they must aim accurately. He suggested that social media must firm up its policies against distorted information.
Former Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice, who was behind the petition against COMELEC's automated counting machine project belittled the proposal, saying candidates could simply deny they had released AI content and possibly pin the blame on their opponents.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) declared they welcome and are prepared to support this "bold" endeavor.
Besides safeguarding campaigns from the abuse of AI, Oscar Visaya, a cybersecurity expert, said the elections must also be shielded from cyber threats. The Philippines would be "destabilized" when the integrity of its elections is dubious, so the COMELEC's operations must always be protected.
Visaya also recommeded that "" be used to counter cybercriminals using the same technology.
