Transparency Consent and Responsibility in AI Generated Political Speech

Author

MU YIZE, Dr. Mohd Haizra Hashim

Abstract

 AI-generated political speech raises a difficult question for media ethics: when does making a politician appear to speak support public participation, and when does it undermine the public's ability to judge? This paper examines that boundary through a normative comparison of three documented cases: the Biden voice-cloning robocalls before the 2024 New Hampshire primary, Imran Khan's AI-generated address from prison in December 2023, and the synthetic Suharto campaign video circulated before Indonesia's 2024 election. Deontological ethics and social responsibility theory guide the analysis, supported by the TARES principles of ethical persuasion. The cases are assessed through four questions concerning truthful representation, authorisation, meaningful disclosure, and responsibility for foreseeable harm. The comparison supports a qualified argument: disclosure is necessary when realistic synthetic speech could be mistaken for an authentic recording, but disclosure alone cannot justify false endorsements or misleading voting information. Conversely, a blanket prohibition can restrict legitimate expression when an identifiable speaker approves a message and its synthetic delivery is made clear. The paper proposes proportionate safeguards that connect disclosure to verifiable authorship, accountable publication, timely correction, and protection for satire. Its contribution is a practical ethical distinction between using AI to communicate someone's position and borrowing someone's identity to manufacture political authority.

Keywords

Media ethics; AI-generated political content; synthetic speech; political communication; informed judgement; accountability

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References

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