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How AI could manipulate voters and undermine elections, threatening democracy

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How AI could manipulate voters and undermine elections, threatening democracy

It’s common knowledge that technology had a role in swaying voters in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

To add an additional layer of complications to the upcoming elections in the U.S., artificial intelligence will likely play a heavier hand. 

While AI has been utilized in a multitude of ways in society, there are growing concerns about the use of generative AI during this election season, which may manipulate voters and undermine the elections.

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Illustration of generative AI   (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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What is generative AI?

Generative AI is artificial intelligence that is capable of generating photos, written information and other data based on models that learn and process raw data as well as through user prompts.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

How can generative AI be misused in this year’s election?

For every candidate who is using AI as a cost-saving measure, there are those who can use it for more malicious purposes. While AI can be used to distinguish and exclude ineligible voters from registries as well as signature matches, it may end up suppressing voters by knowingly or unknowingly removing those who are actually eligible.

Chatbots and algorithms can be used to drum up incorrect information to voters, which can sway them against certain candidates. In the worst-case scenario, AI can amplify hot-button issues and potentially stir up violence.

ELECTION bALLOT

A hand putting in a ballot   (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

MORE: AI WEARABLE CONTRAPTION GIVES YOU SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH

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How tech and AI companies are failing to protect election integrity

Tech companies aren’t investing in election integrity initiatives. AI companies don’t have the connections and funding to manage any risks involved with how their tools get utilized for elections. This means that there is less and less human oversight on what AI generates as well as how the AI-generated information gets used.

The very nature of the American Constitution could be in direct conflict with AI during this election season as free speech is part of the very fabric of American ideals, yet preventing and stopping misinformation is crucial to ensure a fair election.

Not only is the classic mud-slinging of candidates likely, but other countries, such as China, Iran and Russia, have recently been caught trying to use content created with AI to manipulate U.S. voters.

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voters

Voters lined up to vote at the polls   (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

MORE: CYBERATTACK ON DC ELECTION SITE EXPOSES VOTER DATA TO HACKERS 

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Ways to prevent misuse of AI

Social media has undoubtedly changed the way election campaigns are run. Various platforms have their own processes in place to deal with election information and misinformation. YouTube has changed its policy and states: “We will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections.”

YouTube’s parent company, Alphabet, requires election advertisers to prominently disclose when their ads include realistic synthetic content that has been digitally altered or generated, including by AI tools. Over the coming months, YouTube will also require creators to disclose when they have created realistic altered or synthetic content and will display a label that indicates to people that the content they’re watching is synthetic. 

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, will put labels on images and ads that were made with AI, in order to help people know what is real and what is not, and to stop false or harmful information from spreading, especially during elections.

Several states have passed laws regulating the use of political deepfakes, including California, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Washington.

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MORE: AI AND HOLOGRAMS BRING THE KING OF ROCK N ROLL BACK TO LIFE

Kurt’s key takeaways

While there will always be the potential for AI to be misused in any facet of society, it seems most alarming if it will impact our democracy. With the awareness of potential misuse by pundits and voters alike, there is a chance that it will encourage more critical thinking by voters who will be viewing election candidates, issues and information with a more critical eye. That can make people more apt to do their own research than just absorb what they are being “fed” online or offline. And since America’s election system isn’t centralized, it will be harder for AI to be misused as votes are managed at the local level. At the end of the day, your vote will still matter.

What are your biggest concerns regarding the use of AI during this year’s election? Do you think you’ll see or feel the impact? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

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xAI explains the Grok Nazi meltdown as Tesla puts Elon’s bot in its cars

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xAI explains the Grok Nazi meltdown as Tesla puts Elon’s bot in its cars

Several days after temporarily shutting down the Grok AI bot that was producing antisemitic posts and praising Hitler in response to user prompts, Elon Musk’s AI company tried to explain why that happened. In a series of posts on X, it said that “…we discovered the root cause was an update to a code path upstream of the @grok bot. This is independent of the underlying language model that powers @grok.”

On the same day, Tesla announced a new 2025.26 update rolling out “shortly” to its electric cars, which adds the Grok assistant to vehicles equipped with AMD-powered infotainment systems, which have been available since mid-2021. According to Tesla, “Grok is currently in Beta & does not issue commands to your car – existing voice commands remain unchanged.” As Electrek notes, this should mean that whenever the update does reach customer-owned Teslas, it won’t be much different than using the bot as an app on a connected phone.

This isn’t the first time the Grok bot has had these kinds of problems or similarly explained them. In February, it blamed a change made by an unnamed ex-OpenAI employee for the bot disregarding sources that accused Elon Musk or Donald Trump of spreading misinformation. Then, in May, it began inserting allegations of white genocide in South Africa into posts about almost any topic. The company again blamed an “unauthorized modification,” and said it would start publishing Grok’s system prompts publicly.

xAI claims that a change on Monday, July 7th, “triggered an unintended action” that added an older series of instructions to its system prompts telling it to be “maximally based,” and “not afraid to offend people who are politically correct.”

The prompts are separate from the ones we noted were added to the bot a day earlier, and both sets are different from the ones the company says are currently in operation for the new Grok 4 assistant.

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These are the prompts specifically cited as connected to the problems:

“You tell it like it is and you are not afraid to offend people who are politically correct.”

* Understand the tone, context and language of the post. Reflect that in your response.”

* “Reply to the post just like a human, keep it engaging, dont repeat the information which is already present in the original post.”

The xAI explanation says those lines caused the Grok AI bot to break from other instructions that are supposed to prevent these types of responses, and instead produce “unethical or controversial opinions to engage the user,” as well as “reinforce any previously user-triggered leanings, including any hate speech in the same X thread,” and prioritize sticking to earlier posts from the thread.

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Solar-powered robot zaps weeds without chemicals

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Solar-powered robot zaps weeds without chemicals

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Out in the California sun, a new kind of farmhand is hard at work. Powered by solar energy and guided by artificial intelligence, the solar-powered weeding robot for cotton fields is offering farmers a smarter and more sustainable way to tackle weeds. 

This technology is arriving just in time, as growers across the country face a shortage of available workers and weeds that are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides.

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JOB-KILLING ROBOT LEARNS AT WORK, AND IT’S COMING TO THE FACTORY FLOOR

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Solar-powered Element robot  (Aigen)

Why farmers need alternatives to herbicides and manual labor

Farmers everywhere are facing a tough reality. There simply aren’t enough people willing to do the backbreaking work of weeding fields, and the weeds themselves are getting harder to kill with chemicals. Many farmers would rather avoid using herbicides, but until now, they haven’t had a practical alternative. Kenny Lee, CEO of Aigen, puts it plainly: farmers don’t love chemicals, but they use them because it’s often the only tool available. Aigen’s mission is to give them a better choice.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

How Aigen’s solar-powered weeding robot uses AI to fight weeds

Aigen’s Element robot is designed to meet the real-world needs of modern agriculture. It runs entirely on solar power, which means farmers can save money on fuel while also reducing their environmental impact. The robot uses advanced AI and onboard cameras to spot and remove weeds with impressive accuracy, all without damaging the crops. Its rugged design allows it to handle rough terrain and changing weather, and it can work alongside other robots, communicating wirelessly to cover large fields efficiently. The Element robot isn’t limited to cotton; it’s also being used in soy and sugar beet fields, showing just how versatile this technology can be.

solar robot 2

Solar-powered Element robot  (Aigen)

Real-world results: Aigen’s robot at work on California cotton farms

At Bowles Farm in California’s Central Valley, Element robots are already proving their worth. These robots are keeping cotton fields weed-free without the need for chemicals, freeing up workers to focus on more skilled tasks and helping farmers manage their operations more efficiently. The technology is not just a promise for the future. It’s delivering real results today. 

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Top benefits of solar-powered weeding robots for sustainable farming

Switching to solar-powered, AI-driven robots brings a host of benefits. Farmers no longer need to rely on herbicides, which leads to cleaner crops and healthier soil. Labor costs can drop since workers can shift from manual weeding to supervising and maintaining the robots. The robots also collect valuable data on crop health, pests and diseases, giving farmers better information to make decisions. And because the robots run on solar power, farms can reduce their carbon footprint while saving money on energy.

solar robot 3

Solar-powered Element robots  (Aigen)

Kurt’s key takeaways

Aigen’s Element robot goes beyond being just another cool piece of technology. It really shows what can happen when farming and innovation come together. As more growers start using solar-powered robots like this, chemical-free fields are moving from wishful thinking to something we can actually achieve.

Would you feel comfortable trusting a robot to handle important tasks and help shape the future of how we grow our food? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com/Contact 

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It’s the final day of Prime Day 2025, and the deals are still live

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It’s the final day of Prime Day 2025, and the deals are still live

Editor’s note: That’s a wrap, folks! As Prime Day 2025 draws to a close, we’ll no longer be updating this article with additional deals and insights. Plenty of great deals remain, however, so be sure to check out all of our Prime Day coverage for anything you may have missed.

There are mere hours left of Amazon’s extended Prime Day extravaganza. And, yeah, we’re a little exhausted, but after days of lightning deals and all-time low prices, these discounts won’t be around for much longer. So, if you’ve been hesitant to jump on these laptop deals before heading back to school, now’s your time to act. Typically, Prime Day is your last opportunity to take advantage of bottom-dollar prices until Black Friday / Cyber Monday, so it may be a while before you see prices plummet on a gadget you’re interested in buying.

Really, there’s an overwhelming amount of Prime Day deals, so to make things easier to navigate, we’ve organized all of our favorites by category below. That will allow you to quickly find exactly what you’re looking for — or even uncover a deal on something you didn’t know you wanted.

Tablet and e-reader deals

Soundbar and Bluetooth speaker deals

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Verge favorites and other miscellaneous deals

Update, July 11th: Added several more deals, including those for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Razer’s Kishi Ultra mobile controller, and Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus.

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