Meta Restricts Election-Related Queries in AI Chatbot for Indian General Elections
As the Indian general elections kick off, Meta has begun limiting certain election-related keywords in its AI chatbot, which is currently being tested across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger in India. The company acknowledged that it is working on enhancing the AI response system to ensure more accurate and appropriate responses.
“This is a new technology, and it may not always return the response we intend, which is the same for all generative AI systems. Since we launched, we’ve constantly released updates and improvements to our models, and we’re continuing to work on making them better,” a company spokesperson told The Zero Byte.
Big Tech Companies Proactively Curtailing GenAI Services for Elections
Meta’s decision to restrict election-related queries in its AI chatbot follows a similar move by Google, which started blocking such queries in its Gemini chatbot experience last month in India and other markets with upcoming elections. The primary concern is that generative AI could potentially provide users with misleading or false information, thus interfering with the democratic process.
Meta’s Approach to Election-Related Content
Meta’s handling of genAI queries appears to be based on a blocklist. When users ask about specific politicians, candidates, officeholders, or certain other terms, the chatbot redirects them to the Election Commission’s website with the following message:
“This question may pertain to a political figure during general elections. Please refer to the link https://elections24.eci.gov.in,” the response says.
Image Credits: Screenshot by The Zero Byte
Inconsistencies in Meta AI’s Responses
Despite the restrictions, Meta AI has shown some inconsistencies in its responses. For example, when asked about the “Indi Alliance,” a political alliance opposing the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the chatbot provided information containing a politician’s name. However, when asked about that politician in a separate query, no information was given.
Image credits: Screenshot by The Zero Byte
Meta AI Chatbot Rollout and Testing
This week, Meta introduced a new Llama-3-powered Meta AI chatbot in more than a dozen countries, including the U.S., but not in India. The company stated that the chatbot will remain in the testing phase in India for the time being.
“We continue to learn from our users tests in India. As we do with many of our AI products and features, we test them publicly in varying phases and in a limited capacity,” a company spokesperson told The Zero Byte in a statement.
Currently, Meta AI is not blocking queries about elections for U.S.-related terms such as “Tell me about Joe Biden.” The Zero Byte has reached out to Meta to inquire if the company plans to restrict these queries for the U.S. elections or other markets and will update the story if a response is received.
If you want to talk about your experience with Meta AI you can reach out to Ivan Mehta at [email protected] by email and through this link on Signal.
2 Comments
So, Meta’s playing Big Brother to “protect” us? How convenient.
Censorship or safeguarding democracy, where do we draw the line?