Key Points
- Mark Matlock, Reform UK candidate, debunked AI bot rumors.
- Absence at campaign events sparked speculation.
- Matlock cited severe pneumonia as the cause.
- Original photo editing led to misconceptions.
In a strange move, a far-right UK politician running for the Reform UK party named Mark Matlock was alleged to be an artificial intelligence-generated person.
This was because he missed a lot of campaign events and his campaign photo looked too polished. Nevertheless, Matlock has come out to confirm that he is indeed human and not an AI creation.
Several campaign events were missed by this person including the crucial election count. A suspicious thread on social media platform X suggested there could have been some big scandal going on that questioned the very existence of this man called Matlock.
We might be on the verge of a HUGE SCANDAL. Suspicions have been raised that Reform have fielded election candidates that aren’t real people. Is there any evidence that Mark Matlock (candidate for Clapham & Brixton Hill) actually exists? He looks AI generated. pic.twitter.com/0wJcR4HZXG
— Dr Bella (@Dr_BellaR) July 8, 2024
Health Issues and Photo Editing Mishap
Matlock clarified that he couldn’t be physically present in any political rally due to suffering from extreme pneumonia contrary to what people thought about him being absent from campaigns.
“I contracted pneumonia three days before election night; I tried my best but couldn’t make it because even standing became difficult,” He told The Independent News Paper.
The other thing that added confusion to people’s minds was when they saw his over-edited campaign photo. Some parts of it like hair and skin looked unnatural which resembled the rubbery uncanny valley look often associated with AI-generated images.
He gave The Independent News Paper an original picture where only the background had been removed other than changing the color of the tie around his neck
Such incidents point out dangers faced by politicians during times when technology has advanced greatly such as these where they said someone could create you using artificial intelligence if this happens then many people will believe what they see rather than think twice or crosscheck their facts before making conclusions about others especially those who are vying for public offices like President or Prime minister
The year 2024 has already seen a UK executive trying to run for parliament using an AI persona that got only 179 votes.
The Growing Role of AI in Politics
AI tools have continued to be used during political campaigns with deep fakes and AI-generated content becoming more sophisticated thus posing authenticity challenges in politics.
For instance, President Joe Biden’s voice was cloned using deepfake technology aiming at discouraging voters during the just concluded election period.
Google among other platforms has responded by implementing measures to disclose AI-generated political ads whereby they will automatically label such ads identified by advertisers to maintain transparency in political advertising according to Google’s statement released yesterday evening
Politicians must learn from Mark Matlock’s example and interact more with their constituents while also maintaining transparency online. Also, when editing photos they should be careful not to make them look too fake because it can easily lead to misunderstandings especially now that everything is driven by Artificial intelligence systems.
