Candidates for the New Jersey governor race are utilizing artificial intelligence in their political advertisements, raising questions about the ethics and effectiveness of such technology. U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat, and former radio show host Bill Spadea, a Republican, are employing AI in novel ways within their campaigns.
Gottheimer's campaign has produced an AI-generated ad featuring him as a boxer sparring with President Donald Trump. The ad includes various depictions of Gottheimer, such as a young boy wearing boxing gloves and a muscular version facing off against Trump in a ring. While Gottheimer is not an actual boxer, he stated that he has engaged in kickboxing. The ad also features images of Gottheimer with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama; however, only the photo with Clinton is authentic.
Gottheimer explained his motivation for using AI: "I want to make it clear I’m not afraid to get in the ring with this guy and go round after round until we win." The ad contains a disclaimer noting "AI generated imagery" at its start and concludes with "AI generated. Tax cuts are real." Despite this disclosure, it does not specify which parts were created using AI.
Jim Samuel from Rutgers University commented on the ad's entertainment value but questioned its ability to persuade voters: "There are a lot of people who are more than happy to use AI for entertainment... But when it comes to decision making, a lot of people go back to fundamental information based, fact-based decision making."
Bill Spadea's campaign used AI to create voice recordings of statements previously attributed to his primary opponent Jack Ciattarelli in print form. Samuel criticized this approach: "If he actually said it and there’s a recording, then play the recording. If he said it and it was only documented in text, then I think it is wrong."
The lack of comprehensive AI regulations in the U.S. adds complexity to these issues. Although Republicans have attempted to include provisions banning state-level AI regulations in upcoming tax legislation, Samuel pointed out that even Europe’s more stringent regulations can be circumvented by legal means.
Samuel concluded by comparing current AI regulation efforts to an unfinished cake: “We can’t say that there’s no cake, and yet it’s half-baked... So there’s no benefit to the people.”
