In what is being called a “tech deal,” major tech companies are showing they are willing to work together to combat artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content that could threaten democratic elections globally this year.
The draft agreement will be presented at the Munich Security Conference, which starts today, and companies including Meta, Microsoft, Google, TikTok and OpenAI will present details.
The deal comes as 64 countries plus the European Union prepare to hold national elections this year. Second Time magazine2 billion eligible voters worldwide will go to the polls, representing approximately 49% of the world’s population.
“In a critical global election year, tech companies are working on a deal to combat the deceptive use of artificial intelligence targeting voters,” Major technology companies said this in a joint statement. “Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok and others are working together to advance this shared goal.”
The commitment in this draft agreement includes the creation of tools, such as watermarks and detection techniques, to help identify “deepfake“ Images and audio of AI and debunking it. It also includes commitments for a more transparent conversation about how these tech giants are combating AI-generated information on their various platforms.
Some in the tech community, however, do not support the initiative because it draws attention away from regulating these large companies.
Meredith Whittaker, co-founder of the AI Now Institute, has reviewed the draft pledge and doesn’t believe these tech companies can be trusted to oversee themselves.
“The Deepfake doesn’t really matter unless you have a platform to spread it on,” he said, noting that the pledge does nothing to combat the problems of social media platforms targeting specific voter demographics.
Political deepfakes are becoming increasingly prevalent in a number of different countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Just recently, a Deepfake robocall generated by AI impersonating President Biden was released, urging New Hampshire voters to abstain from the primary election.