James Gordon writes for the DailyMail.com about Russia’s latest malevolent actions.
Russia is once again trying to interfere in an American election, according to US officials, with the Kremlin accused of unleashing a covert online influence campaign designed to stir division and undermine confidence ahead of November’s midterms.
Recent classified US intelligence assessments have concluded that Moscow authorized a fresh digital operation aimed at Americans, using social media to spread or amplify inflammatory political material as voters prepare to decide control of Congress.
The campaign appears to follow a playbook Russia has repeatedly deployed in the US since its notorious intervention in the 2016 presidential race but this time using artificial intelligence.
China is also being closely watched, with US officials warning that Beijing could potentially target individual congressional races or lawmakers it considers hostile to Chinese interests.
Intelligence assessments suggest China may ultimately hold back because of the potential blowback if such an operation were exposed.
Current and former officials have described Beijing as generally more cautious about detection than Russia or Iran.
The warning comes as artificial intelligence emerges as an increasingly volatile factor in America’s dealings with China far beyond the election campaign.
It was revealed Friday that faulty AI-assisted intelligence nearly prompted the US military to intercept and board a Chinese vessel in the Middle East earlier this year after its cargo was wrongly identified as containing components linked to a nuclear weapons program.
A US special operations analyst had used an AI chatbot to analyze the ship’s manifest, according to CNN, only for the technology to produce an incorrect assessment that dramatically raised the stakes surrounding the vessel.
When it comes to election interference, officials familiar with the intelligence told The New York Times there was no evidence Russia was attempting to compromise voting machines or manipulate the actual casting or counting of ballots.
Instead, Moscow’s apparent objective is to influence what Americans see and believe online, deepening existing political divisions during an already fiercely contested election season.
