The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking into prohibiting the use of deepfake technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) during the campaign period for the May 2025 midterm polls. This was announced by Comelec Chairman George Garcia recently, saying the measure is timely as these technologies might create confusion among voters.
“Maganda mapag-usapan na kung dapat ipagbawal ang paggamit ng AI or deepfakes sa kampanya. Dapat ‘yung makatotohanan na kampanya. Kukumbinsihin ko ang ating Commission en banc na ipagbawal namin sa campaign ang paggamit ng deepfakes at Al sapagkat madami po ang nalilito, misrepresentation, madaming hindi makatotohanan na nangyayari kapag ginagamit po 'yan (It would be good if we can tackle the ban on the use of AI or deepfakes in election campaign. Campaign should be realistic. I would convince our Commission en banc to ban the use of deepfakes and AI in election campaigns because many are being confused and it can cause misrepresentation. We are veering away from reality if we use these),” he said.
Deepfakes are an advanced form of digital content manipulation through generative AI, where a person in an image or video is swapped with another person's likeness.
Filipinos who have seen several national and local elections already are sure that there is nothing better than face-to-face encounters and physically watching or listening candidates make a case for themselves, convincing voters to put them into office.
Chairman Garcia said personal interactions between poll bets and the electorate is much better than communicating using new technologies. Only a few can dispute this observation, citing even fewer exceptions.
“Alam po natin ang (We are aware of) modern technology. Bakit ba hindi? Subalit dapat po, kapag kampanya, ikaw mismo ang nakikita ng sambayanan. Ikaw mismo ang nanliligaw sa kanila. (Why not? But during campaign period, you the candidate should be visible to the people. You should court them personally),” he said.
While the Comelec chair believes that the use of AI and deepfakes is a big threat to our democracy, and also undermines the right and tested spirit of a true election campaign, Garcia would like to head the ideas of other members of the Comelec en banc, especially those who would like to allow AI use during the campaign. He actually respects the collegial status of the Commission on Elections, which is what a chair of the election watchdog should do.
It might be interesting to know how some of the senators stand on this issue.
Senator Ramon "Bong” Revilla Jr. has backed the Commission on Elections over its proposal to disallow the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the upcoming campaign for the 2025 midterm elections.
“AI is just a technological advancement to spread lies. Falsehoods and lies should have no place in our democratic processes," Revilla said in a Viber message to reporters.
"Malinaw na ang gagamit niyan ay walang magandang intensyon kundi pansariling interes lamang (It is clear that those who will use that has no good intentions, but just for personal interest)," he said.
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged Comelec to specify and lay down the policies if it wants to ban the use of AI during elections. "AI is evolving every day, and a regulator such as Comelec needs to be fast," Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian is talking sensibly here, for government policy might lag behind technology in this case for the Comelec, as in other government concerns.
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