Are concerns about digital disinformation and elections overblown?

August 9, 2024

Generative AI has captured the public imagination and raised concerns about the deceptive nature of AI-generated images, video, text, and audio—especially as they’re used to potentially influence political outcomes. Despite these concerns, elections have come and gone around the world this year with little evidence that AI-enabled foreign malign influence has had a meaningful effect on elections so far.

Valerie Wirtschafter explains the threat, likely reasons why it hasn’t been as bad as some feared, and what to watch for in the looming U.S. election.

More research and commentary

How to fix Federal Home Loan Banks. In 1932, Congress passed the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) Act to support homeownership during the Great Depression. At its inception, the FHLBanks played an important role helping working families access financing to buy a home. Today, the FHLBanks have lost this focus—in favor of profit—and should again prioritize encouraging member financial institutions to provide the type of financing that households need to thrive, argue Aaron Klein, Kathryn Judge, and Alan Cui.

The changing landscape of economic opportunity. Last week, the Brookings Center for Economic Security and Opportunity hosted a webinar about how opportunity is changing by race and class in America and the sociological forces that are driving these trends. Quinn Sanderson and Gabriela Campos provide key highlights from the event.

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