The DUP MP raised the issue during questions to the Minister for Women and Equalities in Parliament today.
Speaking afterwards he said, “During the last Assembly election in Northern Ireland some female candidates were subjected to AI generated ‘deep fake’ offensive content. This is an issue of growing importance across society and to women in general and there is a requirement for action where possible to tackle the creation and spread of such content.
However, in this instance, and potentially in others it could be utilised in an attempt to influence the outcome of an election and that requires an additional focus from government.
Whilst the Minister did outline steps within the Online Safety Act, the pace of development in such technology is concerning and the impact of its use either from domestic or international sources could be far-reaching. As we look towards a General Election there is a need for continued action to tackle this, alongside increased awareness amongst the wider public of the existence and capability of such technology and the need for everyone to check the veracity of content which they may see shared online.’