GenAI in the 2024 Taiwan Presidential Election: Lessons for Democracies
By Major Sarah Mobilio, USMC
| December 19, 2024
This article examines the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in disinformation campaigns during the 2024 Taiwan presidential election, with a focus on the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) tactics and Taiwan’s countermeasures. PRC state and non-state actors utilized GenAI to produce subtle and less detectable disinformation, including deepfakes and biased language models. Taiwan’s curated response to PRC-affiliated information threats feature legislative actions, media literacy initiatives, and development of its own GenAI tools, such as the Trustworthy AI Dialogue Engine (TAIDE) language model, to safeguard its cultural values. Despite the PRC’s efforts, Taiwanese sentiment toward the PRC remains largely neutral or negative, demonstrating resilience in Taiwan’s democratic processes. The study further explores the global implications of GenAI in disinformation campaigns, drawing parallels with Russian tactics and examining the role of U.S. technology firms in countering these threats. Taiwan’s multifaceted response offers valuable insights for other democracies facing similar challenges in the evolving landscape of information warfare.
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