AI and Elections: Lessons From South Korea

On April 10, South Korea held its 22nd National Assembly elections, which resulted in the Democratic Party winning 175 out of 300 seats and the ruling People Power Party winning 108. While the 2022 presidential election embraced and incorporated AI into political campaigns - the PPP's AI Yoon Suk-yeol, DP candidate Lee Jae-myung's AI Chatbot, and former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon's AI spokesperson AiDY and avatar WinDY - AI did not have the same presence in the 2024 elections. Given these concerns and landscape, reflections on the 2024 National Assembly elections provide takeaways for combating fake news and AI-enabled false information for future elections - whether in South Korea or abroad. Previous Cases of False Information. The Korea Institute of Liberal Democracy reported in 2018 that North Korea employs 7,000 agents in propaganda and information warfare against South Korea. Deepfakes have spread on social media platforms due to the accessibility of AI. However, despite Microsoft's warning about Chinese attempts to influence the U.S., South Korean, and Indian elections in 2024 with AI-generated content and the NIS's warning of North Korean hackers using AI-generated content to influence the elections, such foreign involvement was not observed. Deepbrain AI, a Korean generative AI company, also announced a collaboration with South Korea's National Police Agency to customize a detection solution that tracks down deepfakes and responds to election crimes. While South Korea still doesn't have an AI law, its recent election, efforts to combat AI-enabled false information, and information landscape provide a few notable takeaways.