One image depicted a community meeting with signs calling for “sensible gun legislation.”
- Another struck a Christmas theme and asked supporters to “deck the halls with donations.” And a third showed people gathered at a coffee shop for a “casual coffee with Victor” event.
What’s happening: All three photos in Victor Bencomo’s December newsletter for his state House District 8 campaign were fake — generated instead by artificial intelligence.
Why it matters: The images are just one example of how Colorado candidates are using AI in the 2024 election.
Zoom in: Even though seemingly banal — and obviously artificial — none of Bencomo’s images came with disclaimers about their source. When asked about them, the Democrat didn’t deny their origins.
- He told us that he feels comfortable with the fake images because they appeared in his newsletter and were not used for other campaign purposes.
- Bencomo said AI is helpful for smaller-budget campaigns. “I definitely used AI to create images so I wouldn’t need to spend money on a technical architect,” he said in an interview.
The intrigue: Given his background as an information technology project manager, Bencomo is concerned about AI’s impacts and supports legislation to mitigate potential misuse.
- “Here we are with a very new technology that has not been well regulated … and that could be used for nefarious acts,” he said.
