ChatGPT Trippin’ on Election Info: Will AI Rain on the 2024 Parade?

Hold onto your hats, folks, ’cause things are about to get a lil’ weird—and not in a fun, “let’s-binge-watch-TikTok-dance-challenges” kinda way. We’re talking about AI, elections, and the potential for a whole lotta misinformation to rain on our democracy parade.

A recent CBS News investigation just dropped some truth bombs: ChatGPT, that super-smart AI chatbot everyone’s been hyping up, has been dishing out some seriously sketchy election info. Think wrong deadlines, missing requirements, and just plain ol’ fake news about voting in key battleground states and even international elections. Yikes.


ChatGPT’s Election Gaffes: This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Misinformation

CBS News decided to put ChatGPT to the test, asking practical voting questions focused on those nail-biter states we all know and love (think North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan) and even threw in some curveballs about international elections. Turns out, ChatGPT’s got some serious knowledge gaps.

Here’s the kicker: sometimes it got stuff right, sometimes it was totally off base, and sometimes it gave different answers to the SAME. EXACT. QUESTION depending on the device or when it was asked. Talk about inconsistent!

Hold Up, Here Are Some Examples (Because Seeing is Believing)

Get ready to facepalm, because these ChatGPT fails are kinda epic:

  • It totally botched the deadlines for mailing in ballots in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Like, c’mon, that’s basic stuff!
  • It “forgot” to mention that you need a witness to sign your absentee ballot in Wisconsin. Oops?
  • It gave some seriously misleading info about early voting in Michigan, leaving voters totally in the dark.
  • It even messed up the ID requirements for voting across the pond in the UK. Brexit, what?
  • And just for kicks, it gave the wrong date for the French parliamentary elections. Sacre bleu!

So, yeah, not exactly building confidence in its ability to be our go-to election guru.


OpenAI’s Like, “Our Bad,” But Are They Doing Enough?

OpenAI, the masterminds behind ChatGPT, are all, “Yeah, we know, we’re working on it.” They claim to be redirecting users to legit sources like CanIVote.org and putting safety measures in place to stop folks from abusing the system for, you know, spreading election BS.

But here’s the thing: CBS News called them out, saying ChatGPT isn’t always playing by the rules and sending users to CanIVote.org like it’s supposed to. Kinda sus, right?

Plus, experts like Henry Ajder, this whole AI and deepfakes guru, are seriously worried about these super-smart AI systems, called LLMs, being weaponized to mess with elections.

Imagine a world where AI is used to:

  • Supercharge fake social media accounts to pump out mountains of misinformation and sway voters.
  • Cook up and spread believable but totally bogus stories about candidates.

Yeah, that’s some Black Mirror-level stuff right there.


Other AI Players: “Nope, Not Touching That”

Turns out, ChatGPT ain’t the only AI whiz kid on the block. Microsoft’s got Copilot, and Google’s rockin’ Gemini, but when CBS News hit them up with the same election questions, they were like, “Nah, fam, we good.”

Both companies were basically like, “Election info is a minefield, and we’re not about to step on that.” They’d rather play it safe and redirect folks to good ol’ search engines than risk spreading misinformation. Smart move, guys.


Don’t Believe Everything You Read (or Hear) From a Chatbot

This whole ChatGPT situation is a major wake-up call. It’s tempting to think AI has all the answers, but when it comes to something as crucial as elections, we gotta be extra careful.

Yeah, OpenAI and the other tech giants are scrambling to fix things, but it’s on us, the users, to be smart cookies. Don’t just blindly trust a chatbot, even if it sounds super confident and throws around fancy algorithms.

Remember that wise dude, Henry Ajder, we mentioned earlier? He’s all about sticking to trustworthy sources, especially those awesome human journalists who actually, you know, fact-check and stuff.


AI and the Future of Elections: A Match Made in… Somewhere?

AI is here to stay, and it’s only gonna get more powerful and integrated into our lives. That means its impact on elections and democracy is something we need to keep a close eye on.

The 2024 US presidential election is gonna be a HUGE test. Will AI be used responsibly and ethically to empower voters, or will it be unleashed as a misinformation machine that throws our whole system into chaos?

Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure: we better buckle up, ’cause it’s gonna be a wild ride.