AI Companies Grapple with Election Integrity: Navigating the Challenges

AI Companies Prepare for the 2024 US Presidential Election

As the United States gears up for its first presidential election since the rise of generative AI, major tech companies like Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft are announcing their plans to handle the months leading up to the crucial vote. The potential risks associated with AI chatbots may not be as visible as deepfakes created with voice cloning, but they are known to confidently provide inaccurate information, even when responding to sincere inquiries.

Chatbots and Election Misinformation

A recent report by NewsGuard discovered that Microsoft’s Bing, now known as Copilot, frequently gave false information about elections. Microsoft did not respond to a request for more information about its policies. The US presidential election presents an opportunity for AI chatbots to prove their usefulness as a shortcut to legitimate information. However, when tested with Texas voting questions, the chatbots’ performance varied.

Companies’ Efforts to Combat Election Misinformation

In the past, Google has used its Jigsaw unit to develop tools to protect elections and political parties from misinformation. Other companies have made similar efforts, such as Twitter’s Civic Integrity Policy. Google has also started releasing regular reports on foreign influences in key elections, with its most recent report focusing on the European Parliament elections.

Addressing AI-Generated Content

Both Google and OpenAI have announced that they will use the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity’s (C2PA) digital credentials to denote AI-generated images with a CR symbol. However, each company has its own approach to handling AI-generated content. Meta announced in November of last year that it would require political advertisers to disclose if they used “AI or other digital techniques” to create ads published on its platforms.

Looking Ahead

As the 2024 race intensifies, these companies will be tested on the safeguards they’ve built and the commitments they’ve made. It remains to be seen how effective their measures will be in preventing the spread of misinformation and ensuring a fair and transparent election process.