Rutgers professor urges mandatory disclosure when AI chatbots give election information as Assembly bill advances

A Rutgers political science professor told the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Thursday that voters need to know when they are interacting with artificial intelligence, as lawmakers advanced a bill that would require disclosure when generative AI operates chatbots providing election-related information.

Solidin Embar, a professor at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, testified in support of Assembly Bill 4729, saying fabricated or artificially manipulated portrayals of candidates threaten voters’ ability to make informed choices. "When these portrayals are built on artificiality ... then we are inviting the degradation of our democracy," Embar said, urging mandatory disclosure of images, text, audio or video generated or manipulated by AI.

The bill would require notification when a chatbot relying on generative AI is used to provide election information. Embar said transparency helps preserve voters’ basic ability to know whether the material they are consuming is real or artificial, and framed disclosure as a minimal step to protect democratic participation.

The League of Women Voters of New Jersey was recorded in favor; no committee members opposed during the discussion. The committee moved and voted to release AB 4729 for further legislative consideration.

Procedure and next steps: The committee released AB 4729; the measure will proceed through the Legislature’s normal committee and floor processes. The committee did not adopt additional amendments during the hearing.