U.S. security officials and researchers told Congress this week that the federal government needs to prepare now for China to use artificial intelligence to disrupt America’s upcoming elections.
New generative AI tools have the potential to revolutionize digital influence operations and supercharge adversaries’ ability to interfere in the democratic process, according to RAND Corporation researcher Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga.
Mr. Beauchamp-Mustafaga reviewed People’s Liberation Army writings to alert the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on Thursday about how the Chinese military may look to manipulate American voters online.
“The PLA has long wanted targeted and tailored influence operations [IO],” Mr. Beauchamp-Mustafaga said at a hearing of the congressionally created commission. “Social media gave them targeted IO and generative AI has the potential to give them tailored IO.”
Targeted influence operations conducted through social media required seizing on trending topics for exploitation, and the RAND researcher said he discovered that China’s military found the approach costly, easily detected and, therefore, easy to defeat.
But China’s military believes generative AI, instead, has the potential to create tailored influence operations that are autonomous, cheaper and quicker to distribute content more subtly so it is not discovered, Mr. Beauchamp-Mustafaga said in written testimony.
Artificial intelligence is a field of science and engineering that uses advanced computing and statistical analysis to accomplish complex tasks. Generative AI’s ability to create new content that appears authentic has the potential to aid adversaries looking to hide from cybersecurity professionals.
Whether China has already deployed such technology to meddle in U.S. politics remains an open question.
Asked at a Wednesday hearing by Rep. Shontel Brown, Ohio Democrat, whether they had evidence that the Chinese Communist Party used AI to interfere in the upcoming U.S. election, the leaders of the National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency paused and looked at each other.
CISA Director Jen Easterly ultimately fielded the question and told the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party that she deferred to the intelligence community for its observations regarding the CCP’s use of AI, but that all Americans need to be vigilant.
“We should expect it,” Ms. Easterly said at the hearing. “We should absolutely expect that foreign actors will attempt to influence and that they will interfere but, to be very clear, Americans should have confidence in the integrity of our election infrastructure.”
The outgoing leader of the NSA, Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, did not directly reply to Ms. Brown’s question. But his actions demonstrate he has assembled America’s cyber defenders for whatever may come.
Before 2024 began, Gen. Nakasone mobilized the NSA and Cyber Command’s Election Security Group to combat foreign threats to the elections. The group of information specialists, planners, and operations specialists work to identify attackers and their intentions, and then battle back.
China has said it will not meddle in the upcoming November elections. Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised President Biden that China would not interfere in upcoming elections when the two leaders met in November, according to CNN, and the Chinese foreign minister reiterated the assurance last month.
U.S. national security officials do not believe China will live up to its word on election meddling, including FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“China’s promised a lot of things over the years so I guess I’ll believe it when I see it, would be the starting point,” Mr. Wray said at Wednesday’s House China Committee hearing.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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