Brazil’s new electoral court head discusses combating illegal AI use

The new head of the Superior Electoral Court, Kassio Nunes Marques, spoke on Tuesday (May 12) about the challenge of combating the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) in the October elections.

Marques took office as president of the court and will oversee the election to choose the president of Brazil, federal, state, and district representatives, governors, and senators. In his inaugural address, he said that the inappropriate use of technology threatens the democratic process.

“We must be vigilant about technologies that can pose threats to our democratic process when misused. We live in an era in which election campaigns do not reach the polls without passing through algorithms, in which political contests no longer unfold in the streets and traditional spaces of public life, but also in the digital realm,” he declared.

In March this year, the court approved restrictions on the use of AI in campaigns.

Voting machines

Nunes Marques also defended the electronic voting system, calling it a “pillar of democracy.”

“Brazil’s electronic voting system is an institutional pillar of our democracy. When it comes to counting, receiving, and reporting votes, our system is the most advanced in the world,” he added.