AI-generated political ads have appeared in Pennsylvania. Are these kind of ads allowed?

With less than two weeks before Election Day, the Pennsylvania governor's race has taken an artificial intelligence turn. 

An AI-generated ad by Stacy Garrity's campaign has joined a handful of others around the country in major races, and the use of AI has raised eyebrows. 

The ad uses an AI-generated likeness of Governor Josh Shapiro and makes references to a sexual harassment complaint that was made against an aide to the governor, not Shapiro himself. 

It's leading to the question, "Should this be allowed?" 

While there's no arguing that the ad is slick, Robert Morris University communications professor Dr. Anthony Moretti said no one should be surprised. 

"It's really well done," he said. "In an environment where, basically, AI is allowed to roam free, why can't a political campaign do this?" 

Dr. Moretti pointed out that in an age of limited attention spans, the ad doesn't admit to being AI-generated until 45 seconds in. 

"By 40 or 45 seconds, the message is pretty well-delivered: that 'I, Josh Shapiro, am a bad guy,' but obviously, that's not Josh Shapiro," he said.

Obvious if you're paying attention. 

The Garrity ad joins similar uses of AI-generated attack ads in high-profile races in Michigan, Georgia, New York, Texas, and Kentucky. 

Garrity told KDKA-TV that she stands by the ad, while the Shapiro campaign told Axios it's "cheap, dishonest, AI BS." 

"We've got to ask ourselves: Do we want AI manipulating our thoughts leading up to political elections?" Dr. Moretti asked. "As a society, if that answer is yes, I don't know what the ramifications are. If the answer is no, then I think this ad will be discredited pretty quickly." 

Dr. Moretti added that if restraints are going to be put on AI in our political races, it's going to have to happen fast, because if this can happen in the midterms, one can only imagine what might come in the presidential election in two years. 

However, deepfake content is not new, and while there have been limited and unsuccessful legislative efforts at the federal level, states like Minnesota, California, and Texas have prohibitions on deepfake impersonations in ads close to Election Day. 

About two dozen other states require a disclaimer in the ad. Here in Pennsylvania, a deepfake prohibition bill has passed the House, but needs Senate approval before it can go, ironically, to Governor Shapiro.