How could AI and deepfakes threaten democratic elections?

Experts worry that AI will impact elections and democracy by undermining public trust, which is essential for democratic systems to function. As deepfake technology rapidly improves, it creates scenarios where synthetic media can disrupt elections through targeted misinformation campaigns. For example, AI-generated robocalls could falsely claim polling stations are unsafe, or convincing synthetic videos might show election workers tampering with ballots. While humans can currently detect most deepfakes, the technology is advancing quickly, potentially leading people to lose faith in electoral systems when they can no longer distinguish between real and fake content.