In January 2024, thousands of New Hampshire voters received robocalls that appeared to be from President Biden. The voice urged Democrats not to vote in the state’s primary, saying, ‘We know the value of voting Democratic when our votes count. It’s important you save your vote for the November election.’ However, the voice was not Biden but a deepfake created by a Democratic political consultant, who aimed to highlight the risks of AI in political manipulation. This incident underscored the deeper worries regarding the upcoming global elections and the potential for widespread misinformation due to advances in generative AI technology.
Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, highlighted the troubling scenario: ‘The nightmare situation was the day before, the day of the election, or the day after, some bombshell image, video or audio would just set the world on fire.’
Though the feared wave of targeted deepfakes didn’t fully materialize in subsequent months, misuse of AI-generated content became evident. Zeve Sanderson, who studies digital information flow at NYU, noted, ‘It wasn’t quite the year of AI elections like many folks foretold.’ Many politicians used AI to create content that was not overtly deceptive but shaped narratives beneficial to them.
In Indonesia, the political party Golkar controversially used AI to resurrect a video of Suharto, the longtime dictator, who endorsed its candidates in a digital fashion. Meanwhile, in India, AI-generated memes exploited critical political moments, though voters like Dilip in Jaipur mentioned that they were not swayed by such trivial content.
AI in Healthcare Transformation
On the healthcare front, artificial intelligence continued to transform gastrointestinal (GI) care in 2024. Experts, including Austin Lee Chiang, M.D., noted that technologies like GI Genius were pivotal in improving real-time detection during colonoscopies, aiding the identification of colorectal cancer.
Dr. Jonathan Ng emphasized, ‘AI is transforming the healthcare industry,’ stating that methods like SKOUT help physicians better identify abnormalities during screenings. This is vital considering one in 24 Americans face a colorectal cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. AI tools significantly improve detection rates and minimize missed lesions during procedures.
Dr. J. Casey Chapman remarked on the advancements in medical therapies for diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, stating, ‘These medications have paved the way for what is now called “treat to target,” focusing on actual healing of the affected segments of the GI tract.’
As AI technologies continue to evolve, experts believe they will not only enhance diagnostics and treatment outcomes but also more broadly impact the healthcare landscape, ushering in new levels of efficiency and patient care.
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- Gastroenterology