Micheal Healy-Rae’s deepfake AI endorsement from Taylor Swift ‘crosses the line’, an AI expert has claimed.
With the polling day just a few weeks away, the independent TD posted on social media a video in which the US megastar appeared to give him her support.
“Hey, it’s Taylor Swift,” the listener is told.
“You all know who I want to vote for in the American election, but if I was voting in Ireland it would be only one man, that’s Michael Healy-Rae.
“You know what, the Tay Tay loves the Healy-Rae. That’s right, Best of luck, Michael.”
Some going to wake up to the news of an endorsement from Tay Tay herself. I mean haters will say it's fake (and they'd be right) but I'll just shake it off! Like, I'm not looking for a love story and don't want any bad blood.. I just want your number 1 vote when the time comes! pic.twitter.com/FgxUlpTjUo
— Michael Healy-Rae (@MHealyRae) October 28, 2024
Although the person in the video looked and sounded exactly like Taylor Swift, in fact it was a computer-generated deepfake and AI Ireland founder Mark Kelly told Lunchtime Live it is a worrying development in Irish politics.
“For me, I think the line has been crossed,” he said.
“For a lot of us will know that’s a deepfake but for people who are older - or maybe younger - they’ll actually think that’s the real thing.”
In August, Republican candidate Donald Trump posted AI images of Swift which falsely claimed he had endorsement.
In fact, the singer is voting for Kamala Harris and Mr Kelly said deepfakes are becoming a “real issue” in US politics.
“The reality is Big Tech is very concerned about this,” he said.
“These deepfakes are going to start to become more and more prevalent.
“We’ve already seen in February of this year somebody handed over $25 million to a deepfake.
“So, these scams are going to become really, really prevalent and I would be concerned this kind of legitimises doing these [things].”
Mr Kelly suggested all AI images should be labelled to allow people to differentiate between what is real and what is fake.
'Very clever'
Not everyone was so concerned; Communications Clinic manager Eoghan Tomás McDermott described the Kerry independent as “one of the most astute politicians” in the country.
“It’s interesting, it’s fun, it’s playful, it’s tongue in cheek and it’s very, very clever,” he said.
“He has achieved a significant outcome as what he was hoping for, you could say, was profile and he’s achieved that.
“He has a national broadcaster - and many other outlets - talking about it.”
Earlier this year, Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne called for an Oireachtas Committee to be created in order to discuss the impact of AI on elections.
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Main image: Split of Taylor Swift and Michael Healy-Rae. Pictures by: Alamy.com and RollingNews.ie
