As voters in the UK and France went to the polls this week, AI’s influence on their respective elections has been in stark contrast. In the UK, it has barely featured in party campaigns (or the political debate). Meanwhile, across the Channel, French far-right parties have embraced the technology. Reports indicate they’ve been deploying AI-generated content across social media platforms to amplify deeply divisive messaging, raising concerns about the potential to sway democratic processes and even impact election integrity.
The limited role of AI in the UK election likely stems from a combination of factors, including the fundamental cyclic desire for change being the overriding public sentiment, and a mainly traditional campaign with a focus on TV and press media. In contrast, French nationalist parties have published numerous AI-generated images across social media, reaching millions. Many posts, with crafted photorealistic motifs, targeting highly emotive topics such as immigration and EU scepticism, went undetected by social platform moderators, raising concerns about the effectiveness of content policies.
Samuel LaFont, head of digital communication for France’s Reconquest party, noted the economic advantage of AI-generated imagery: “When you compare the price of a Shutterstock subscription and a Midjourney subscription, Shutterstock becomes irrelevant.” This shift in content creation practices poses challenges for regulators and platforms, as they struggle to keep pace.
This use of generated imagery exposes gaps in the regulatory frameworks. Neither the UK nor France has specific laws governing the use of AI in political campaigns, relying instead on voluntary commitments and platform policies that are proving inadequate. The EU’s Digital Services Act (currently being used to pressure X to deal with dangerous content) and the recently ratified EU AI Act offer some measure of regulation, but their effectiveness in addressing political groups intent on aggressive multi-channel communication strategies will always be limited.
Yahoo news reports that in France “RN (National Rally) candidates have had AI training, including how to use ChatGPT since January 2024, according to French broadcaster BFMTV. In their training booklet, it gives examples of how AI can help political candidates, like creating campaign posters and finding arguments for debates, the broadcaster reported.”
France finds itself at a paradoxical crossroads in its AI ambitions. President Macron’s vision of a “startup nation” and efforts to nurture homegrown AI giants like Mistral AI have borne fruit, with French AI companies securing $2.3 billion in funding over the past decade – more than any other European country. And yet AI is now intensifying political turmoil which could see more restrictive immigration policies, increased taxation, and policy gridlock derailing this AI boom.
None the less, AI remains a key focus for the French President, evident in his X post on Friday morning to his new UK counterpart: “Congratulations Sir Keir Starmer on your victory. Pleased with our first discussion. We will continue the work begun with the UK for our bilateral cooperation, for peace and security in Europe, for the climate and for AI.”
Takeaways: As Labour takes the reins of government, their approach to AI will be closely watched. They have expressed a desire to toughen up regulation including putting the AI Safety Institute on a statutory footing. The UK implemented a digital imprints law as part of the Elections Act 2022, providing a basis for protection against anonymous political content. This legislation requires digital campaign material to include an ‘imprint’ identifying who is responsible for publishing it. While this law wasn’t specifically designed to address AI content, it offers a framework that could be adapted to tackle emerging challenges in political campaigning. However, as the law is new and untested in the context of full-scale use of AI, its effectiveness in regulating advanced political messaging remains to be seen. Whilst the UK has so far avoided any challenges to the orderly transition of power, this has been a matter of luck rather than truly robust protections. With its own concerns about the right-wing of British politics, the new government will need to act swiftly to set out its approach to AI and to prepare for how it might intersect with the electoral process in the future.