New Delhi: In a significant move ahead of next month’s Bihar Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has banned the use of AI-generated videos during elections.
“This means that no candidate will be able to use AI videos in any form to campaign against their opponents,” the poll body stated on Thursday, stressing that the instructions are binding for all candidates.
ECI said that the ban is aimed at preventing misuse of artificial intelligence in political campaigns and ensuring free and fair elections. Bihar will vote in two phases — on November 6 and 11 — with results to be declared on November 14.
Political parties will have to adhere to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and related instructions while using AI for synthetic or artificial media. All content posted by candidates and parties on social media and the internet will be covered under these guidelines, ECI spelt out.
As per the model code of conduct, political commentary should be limited to policies and programmes of other parties, past records and public actions. Parties must avoid criticising the personal life of leaders or activists unrelated to public activities.
Parties and candidates are also required to refrain from making false allegations or criticising others based on distorted facts.
The poll panel has advised all parties to avoid misuse of AI tools that manipulate information or spread misleading content on social media platforms.
Also, political parties, their leaders, candidates and official campaigners have to clearly label any AI-generated or synthetic content used for promotion on social media or other platforms, prominently indicating terms like ‘AI-generated’, ‘digitally manipulated’, or ‘synthetic content’.
There will be strict monitoring of social media posts to prevent contamination of the election environment, and any violation of these instructions will be dealt with strictly.