So far, around the world, discussions surrounding AI have focused on the theft of knowledge, art, and creativity. In India, however, generative AI has acquired a more insidious political use: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the right-wing party that has governed India for much of the past decade, is using generative AI tools to spread anti-Muslim propaganda, especially in poll-bound states. These tools can produce convincing audiovisual content that viewers may struggle to identify as fake.
In the recent state assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal, both states with significant Muslim populations, the BJP employed generative AI to churn out images and videos targeting Muslims.