Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of the Left podcast in which we grapple with the fact that AI generated deep fakes, entirely fabricated audio and video of recognizable people, are here.

They have been on the horizon for years, but they have finally arrived during the biggest

global election year in history,

which may prove to be a make-or-break year for democracy itself

as we struggle to separate fact from fiction

and autocracy is on the rise around the world.

Sources today include Forbes, Cyber, All Things Considered, Aperture, On with Kara Swisher, and TED Talks Daily with additional members only clips

from Forbes and what next t-B-D. 2024 will be a record year for elections around the world.

Over 4 billion people, more than half of Earth's population, are expected to cast a ballot.

7 out of 10 of the most populous nations are going to the polls, and many elections will be

in countries consequential to the news cycle.

Taiwan held its presidential elections on January 13th,

which saw William Lye of the Democratic Progressive Party

win with over 40% of the vote.

Lies election is expected to make relations between Taiwan and mainland China more antagonistic.

Both Ukraine and Russia who remain locked in war with one another have scheduled elections in March.

And U.S. elections in November are bound to draw intense international attention in what is shaping up

to be a rematch of the 2020 elections.

Democracy is still at risk.

This is not hyperbole. Many academics, political analysts, and think tanks expect 2024 to be a major stress test on the concept of democracy itself.

And one particular variable that will further complicate this test is the rise of AI tools

and the ability to create convincing deep fake news content.

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