To be sure, such false information spreaders have long been a part of elections, notable in the 2016 cycle in the U.S. But the emergence of so-called AI is heightening concerns because the quality of the content – including voice, photo and video – looks so incredibly real.
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta is the latest tech giant to try to increase safeguards against Artificial Intelligence, the most recent – and perhaps most sophisticated – way to peddle dis- and mis-information about this year’s elections.
The company announced late last week that it was first pouring resources into European Union fact checking and cybersecurity operations, hiring new staff and signing cooperation deals with regional companies in three European countries.
The goal is to be fully operational as the 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle really gets into full swing, which is expected to happen soon this year because the Democrats in Joe Biden and Republicans in Donald Trump could have their respective nominees before spring, which would start the General Election cycle.
A new report from the federal government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency highlights an array of threats from the cutting-edge technology including “malicious actors, including foreign nation state actors and cybercriminals.”
AI has already has thrown a loop into the 2024 primaries.
In New Hampshire, the second nominating state for Republicans, a Democratic operative faked President Joe Biden’s voice for use in robocalls to discourage voter turnout.
