WASHINGTON (AP) — Generative artificial intelligence is playing a major role in the presidential campaign, even if the greatest fears about how it could threaten the U.S. presidential election haven’t materialized yet. Fake AI-generated images regularly ricochet around the web. Many of them are so cartoonish and absurd that even the most naïve viewer couldn’t take them seriously. Still, even these memes can be problematic. Eye-catching AI-generated photos and videos, some striving to be funny, have become useful tools for spreading false, sometimes racist messages with a clear political bent — and candidates and their supporters are among those sharing them on social media.