“I Don’t See Anybody in Charge Here” | w/Renée DiResta on AI, Election Interference & Propaganda | Shane Smith Has Questions

Renée DiResta has spent the past decade investigating how propaganda, foreign influence and conspiracy theories spread online. Now, as the midterms approach and AI makes manipulation faster and cheaper, she warns that America may be returning to where it was before the 2016 election—with fewer safeguards and no one clearly in charge. DiResta joins Shane Smith to discuss Russia’s election operations, Chinese and Iranian influence campaigns, the Stanford Internet Observatory, the Election Integrity Partnership and the controversy over censorship. They also examine Cambridge Analytica, political influencers, “ampliganda,” AI-generated scams and the algorithms deciding what millions of people see. Who creates the lie? Who gives it reach? And how can we protect elections without policing legitimate political speech? Renée DiResta is an associate research professor at Georgetown University and the author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality. Thanks to our sponsors: -Try QUO for free and get 20% off your first 6 months at https://www.quo.com/shane Subscribe to Shane Smith Has Questions for candid conversations about politics, media, misinformation and the forces reshaping the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices