Opinion | The Era of A.I. Propaganda Has Arrived, and America Must Act - The New York Times

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Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Benson are professors at Vanderbilt University who specialize in national and international security. Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections were pretty low-tech. Relying on generic bot messaging, low-quality content and mass targeting, their operations probably had limited impact. Those days are over. With the exponential rise of generative A.I. systems, the greatest danger is no longer a flood of invective and falsehoods on social media. Rather, it is the slow, subtle and corrosive manipulation of online communication — propaganda designed not to shock, but to slip silently into our everyday digital discussions. We have entered a new era in international influence operations, where A.I.-generated narratives shift the political landscape without drawing attention. A Chinese company called GoLaxy is already undertaking such operations, according to a large cache of documents recently uncovered by the Vanderbilt University In

Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Guest Essay Aug. 5, 2025 Credit...Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times Brett J. Goldstein and Brett V. Benson Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Benson are professors at Vanderbilt University who specialize in national and international security. Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections were pretty low-tech. Relying on generic bot messaging, low-quality content and mass targeting, their operations probably had limited impact. Those days are over. With the exponential rise of generative A.I. systems, the greatest…

Opinion | The Era of A.I. Propaganda Has Arrived, and America Must Act - The New York Times

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