New NC political ad draws criticism for using AI-generated images

NORTH CAROLINA — A new political ad may look like Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for North Carolina governor. The ad might sound like him too, but you can quickly tell that something’s off.

“I’m an ordinary person, just like you. And I have 10 fingers and toes, just like you,” Robinson says in the ad.

That’s before he holds up his hands, revealing he has too many fingers, one of the common signs of an image created using artificial intelligence.

Channel 9′s Evan Donovan spoke with the creator of the AI political ad. It just started running across the state Tuesday.

The ad arrives in an age where voters have trouble believing the real things politicians have actually said. It uses references to statements Mark Robinson has said or written, but they’re delivered by the AI-generated version of him.

“It’s something that just helps us make our ads more interesting and better,” Todd Stiefel told Donovan.

Stiefel is a longtime Democratic donor who has given nearly $20,000 to Robinson’s opponent, Attorney General Josh Stein. He created the ad under his super PAC called Americans for Prosparody. Its name includes “parody,” as in, a comedic imitation.

The ad uses references to past statements Robinson has made.

“It’s something that with voters right now, we’re trying to help show them like, wait, it’s not just the CNN article, it’s all this stuff,” Stiefel told Donovan. “And here are the receipts with our video, our links directly to Robinson’s Facebook page, videos of Robinson, and other news stories. We fact-checked ourselves.”

The links he mentioned don’t appear when it airs on television, but a disclaimer pops up at the beginning and there’s a watermark throughout the video.

Despite that, political science experts say the ad could still confuse voters.

“I think we’re in a brave new world when it comes to this AI-generated advertising,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, the politics department chair at Catawba College. “And I think this is probably just the very tip of the spear that we’re going to see from now on out.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed a bill last week banning AI and deepfake ads like this in election campaigns.

In an emailed statement, Robinson’s campaign told Channel 9, “Stiefel’s work is full of fake clips and outrageous lies…and North Carolina voters will see right through it.”

Stein’s campaign denounced the ads, saying, “Using AI in campaign advertising is the wrong approach.”

(WATCH BELOW: NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson holds first campaign event after staff departures)

NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson holds first campaign event after staff departures

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