Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest for plotting against democracy, but an AI-generated avatar allowed him to make a surprise appearance at the launch of his son Flavio‘s presidential campaign on Saturday.
The avatar said, “No prison will silence the feeling of hope we have stirred,” after telling the audience it had been made with artificial intelligence.
This stunt was promptly challenged in court by leftist parties, raising concerns about how artificial intelligence may reshape October’s presidential race in Latin America’s largest economy.
The case highlights a new concern about AI in elections, while debate has largely focused on deepfakes spreading misinformation, the Bolsonaro episode is testing whether the technology can serve as a political surrogate for leaders barred from communicating directly with voters.
Critics argued the video violated Brazilian electoral rules because synthetic media can influence voters, while potentially offering a way around judicial restrictions imposed on Bolsonaro.
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Bolsonaro is barred from communicating publicly while under house arrest following his conviction for attempting to overturn the 2022 election, which he lost to Lula.
A coalition of center-left and leftist parties argued that the rules ban synthetic content capable of reproducing real people to influence voter intent, citing the technology’s persuasive and manipulative potential.
However, the court’s President Justice Kassio Nunes Marques stopped short of condemning the video’s use, saying “Using AI for campaigning is permissible, but what is forbidden is using it to harm someone.”
Nunes Marques said he could not comment on the case itself before it is reviewed by the court.
According to Ivar Hartmann, an associate law professor at Insper in Sao Paulo, Jair Bolsonaro is unlikely to face penalties because he can argue he neither recorded nor authorized the AI-generated message.
The defense may argue those restrictions apply only to deceptive content that harms electoral fairness or integrity.
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Whether the avatar’s appearance was a one-off stunt or the start of a larger role for a virtual Bolsonaro on the campaign trail remains unclear.
They did not comment on the AI video, but local newspaper O Globo reported that Jair Bolsonaro had not been informed in advance that the video would be shown.
The campaign had concluded that disclosing that the video was generated by AI provided sufficient legal basis for its use, according to O Globo.
The electoral court’s decision on the matter will likely have significant implications for the use of AI in future elections, not only in Brazil but also in other countries where similar technologies are being developed and deployed.
It will be important to establish clear guidelines on the use of AI in political campaigning.