John Cornyn’s Campaign Uses Very Tactic He Called ‘Phony’ The Same Day

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn criticized the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in campaign advertising on Monday — the same day his campaign rolled out an AI-fueled attack ad of its own.

Texas’ GOP Senate candidates are turning to AI to knock their opponents ahead of the fast-approaching March 3 primary with Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign releasing an attack ad using AI-generated images of Cornyn on Jan. 16. When asked by CBS Texas about Paxton’s AI-powered ad on Monday, Cornyn called the fake content “absolutely silly” and “pathetic” while suggesting the presence of AI in campaign advertising undermines a candidate’s message.

“If people see a phony ad made by artificial intelligence, what that means to me is they must think well, the whole thing’s phony, including the message,” Cornyn told the outlet.

However the same day, the Cornyn campaign unveiled a 30-second digital ad — filled with AI-generated content — torching Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, the third Republican candidate in the race.

WATCH:

In Cornyn’s video, a fake rendering of Hunt — who is running an insurgent campaign against the incumbent — is seen accompanying an AI-generated Pomeranian in various scenes created by AI. Included in the digital ad are several claims that Hunt is insufficiently conservative with the spot’s narrator repeating the catchphrase “that dog won’t hunt.”

There is no disclaimer that AI-generated content appears in the 30-second video.