Chris McKay’s Post

The "Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections" announced last Friday at the Munich Security Conference is no small feat. More than a dozen companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Goggle and Meta (among many others), committed to combating misinformation in a historical year with elections taking place in 50 countries involving 2 billion voters is a big announcement and sets a good precedent in the discussion of the new AI governance imperative. Worth reading and understanding the commitments made by some of the largest AI players...#ai4good #aigovernance https://lnkd.in/ds2fks2Q

Access to this page has been denied: A deepfake robocall resembling President Biden stirred concerns about AI manipulation in U.S. elections, prompting calls for regulation. With AI's ability to deceive voters and replicate candidates, experts warn of rising distrust. While the FEC reviews rules to address deepfakes, Congressional action is seen as crucial. Private companies are also urged to enforce policies to counter AI election threats. - Artificial Intelligence topics! #ai #artificialintelligence #intelligenzaartificiale

🔒 Three bills aiming to safeguard election integrity from sneaky AI manipulation have sailed through the Senate committee! 🎉 Is it just me, or does AI seem to have a penchant for mischief these days? 😅 #ainews #automatorsolutions 🗳️ No more AI hijinks at the ballot box, folks! These bills are here to save the day and protect our democratic process. Let's hope they're as effective as they claim to be! 🤞 🧠 With generative AI posing a threat to election security, these new regulations are like a hi-tech shield for our voting systems. Kudos to those trying to outsmart the tech-savvy troublemakers out there! 🛡️ 🤖 AI + Elections = A match made in...well, the Senate? Who knew our lawmakers could be so tech-savvy! Let's hope this is the start of a beautiful (and secure) friendship between AI and democracy. 🤝 🔮 Predictions time! Will these bills be the silver bullet to protect our elections, or will the wily AI find a way to outsmart us again? Only time will tell, but one thing's for sure - the tech world is in for a bumpy ride! 🎢 Let's stay sharp, stay informed, and keep those AI shenanigans in check! 💪 What are your thoughts on this latest development in the ever-evolving world of AI and cybersecurity? Let's discuss! 💬 #ainews #automatorsolutions #CyberSecurityAINews ----- Original Publish Date: 2024-05-15 10:34

We are proud to announce our commitment to the Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections, unveiled today at the Munich Security Conference (MSC). This accord is a collective pledge by leading tech companies to prevent deceptive AI content from influencing this year's global elections, which will see over four billion people voting in more than 40 countries. Our commitment involves working collaboratively on tools to address the online distribution of deceptive AI content, driving educational campaigns to raise public awareness about this issue, and providing transparency. This marks a significant step towards safeguarding our online communities against deceptive AI content. More here via NBC News: https://lnkd.in/gyB_Q_jd Read the full press release: https://lnkd.in/gXx4FmdC #TechAccord #MSC2024 #SafeguardingDemocracy

As we approach a pivotal moment in U.S. this year with the upcoming elections, it's crucial to reflect on the tools shaping our political discourse in general. A recent Wired article sheds light on an alarming trend: Microsoft's AI chatbot, known as Microsoft Copilot, has been disseminating election-related misinformation, including conspiracies and outdated or incorrect information. When prompted about simple election queries, the chatbot's responses were startling. From misdirecting about polling locations to listing withdrawn electoral candidates, the inaccuracies are not just errors but pose a real threat to informed public discourse. The bot even displayed images linked to debunked election conspiracies and offered resources from questionable groups under the guise of promoting "election integrity." This isn't a solitary incident. Research by AI Forensics and AlgorithmWatch indicates a systemic issue with Copilot, providing inaccurate election information across different countries. Such misinformation includes incorrect polling numbers, election dates, and fabricated controversies about candidates. While Microsoft has acknowledged the issue and pledged to combat disinformation, particularly from generative AI tools, the persistence of such errors even after updates raises concerns. As professionals and citizens, we must question the reliability of AI in crucial contexts like elections and advocate for stringent standards and oversight. While the issues highlighted pertain specifically to Microsoft's Copilot, it's imperative to recognize that this is not an isolated phenomenon unique to one AI tool. Across the tech landscape, various similar tools have demonstrated tendencies to propagate misinformation or inaccurate data. This pattern underscores a broader, industry-wide challenge in ensuring AI reliability and ethical use, particularly in sensitive areas like political discourse. This case serves as a stark reminder that as we integrate AI more deeply into our lives, the imperative for accuracy, transparency, and ethical considerations becomes increasingly paramount. The article: https://lnkd.in/e4EMX_uF #ArtificialIntelligence #ElectionIntegrity #TechnologyEthics #PoliticalDiscourse #DigitalDemocracy #ResponsibleAI #FactChecking

SUMMARY: Major tech companies agree to adopt "reasonable precautions" against AI misuse in elections, focusing on detecting and labeling deepfakes. MAIN POINTS: - Executives from major companies like Google, Amazon, and OpenAI signed an accord at the Munich Security Conference to combat AI-generated election disinformation. - The agreement emphasizes voluntary measures for detecting and labeling deceptive AI content without imposing strict bans. - Critics call the accord symbolic, noting its non-binding nature and the need for more robust action against election-related AI threats. TAKEAWAYS: - The initiative marks a collaborative effort in the tech industry to address AI's potential harm to democratic processes. - Skepticism remains about the effectiveness of voluntary measures in combating AI-generated disinformation in elections. - The accord underscores the challenge of balancing AI innovation with the protection of democratic integrity. #ai #aisecurity #electionsecurity

More than 50 countries are due to hold national elections in 2024... and AI is a big concern. Tech companies are putting safeguards on their own generative AI tools that can manipulate images and sound, while also working to identify and label AI-generated content so that social media users know if what they're seeing is real. #artificialintelligence #ai #politics #technology #election #fraud ABC News The Associated Press

Here we go AGAIN!!! When WIRED asked the chatbot, initially called Bing Chat and recently renamed Microsoft #Copilot, about polling locations for the 2024 US election, the bot referenced in-person voting by linking to an article about Russian president Vladimir Putin running for reelection next year. When asked about electoral candidates, it listed numerous GOP candidates who have already pulled out of the race. When WIRED asked Copilot to recommend a list of Telegram channels that discuss “election integrity,” the chatbot shared a link to a website run by a far-right group based in Colorado that has been sued by civil rights groups, including the NAACP, for allegedly intimidating voters, including at their homes, during purported canvassing and voter campaigns in the aftermath of the 2020 election. This isn’t an isolated issue. New research shared exclusively with WIRED alleges that Copilot’s election misinformation is systemic. Research conducted by AI Forensics and AlgorithmWatch, two nonprofits that track how AI advances are impacting society, claims that Copilot, which is based on OpenAI’s GPT-4, consistently shared inaccurate information about elections in Switzerland and Germany last October. Last month, Microsoft laid out its plans to combat disinformation ahead of high-profile elections in 2024, including how it aims to tackle the potential threat from #generativeai tools. However, the researchers claimed that when they told Microsoft about these results in October, some improvements were made, but issues remained, and WIRED could replicate many of the responses reported by the researchers using the same prompts. https://lnkd.in/d2uUeU6s? #artificialintelligence #misinformation #2024election #chatgpt Via WIRED

Goat Rodeo (noun): An expression used to describe AI and the 2024 election. AI tools are sufficiently advanced that even a child can use them for AI voice impersonation of a famous politician's voice. While the result might be robotic and obvious, an engineer talented in audio and AI could certainly make it extremely difficult to tell the difference. It should come as no surprise that someone created an AI version of President Biden in a robocall during the New Hampshire primary. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. AI will be weaponized aggressively this election season. Because of this, I can logically predict the following 5 responses: 1. Congress will aggressively pursue legislation to regulate AI and its use in materials. (i.e., AI legislation proposals S. 2770 (118) by Klobuchar and Hawley and H.R. 3044 (118) Clarke) 2. Some politicians and others caught on audio or film will lie and tell us that what we saw isn't real but actually AI-generated. This is just a repeat of what we've seen with mistakes posted on social media or text (i.e., the 'my account was hacked' excuse) 3. Two distinct AI industries -- solutions and tools with aggressive controls and guardrails by a few companies to 'protect against misuse' and an open-source AI ecosystem that is free of restrictions or have restrictions that can be easily removed 4. Substantial investment in election security AI or tools to identify where AI has been used to create content. 5. Renewed calls for the elimination of anonymous internet and social media usage. This is a particularly vulnerable time in the development of AI tools and solutions where we over legislate and over control in order to 'protect' (pick your group). It explains one reason why Mozilla has created a new startup called Mozilla.ai to "...build a trustworthy and independent open-source AI ecosystem." https://lnkd.in/gYe9c_Nx #AITechnology #DigitalEthics #ElectionSecurity #TechLegislation #ArtificialIntelligence

✍ I'd like to share an article I've written for JURIST on Friday's Munich Security Conference. Here, the world's tech giants came together to sign an accord aimed at curbing the deceptive use of Artificial Intelligence in elections. This move, significant in its timing and intent, intersects with a year brimming with national elections in over 50 countries worldwide. It sets the stage for a critical examination of self-regulation's role in safeguarding democratic processes. 📄 This accord situates itself against a backdrop of tangible threats to electoral integrity, notably illustrated by recent incidents like the AI-driven robocalls that mimicked Joe Biden during New Hampshire's primary election. 🖥 The intrigue for me lies not only in whether these self-regulatory measures will prove effective but also in how we will attribute the successes and failures of these efforts. This development coincides with significant regulatory movements, like the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act, and many other governments around the world being called on to explore similar responses. All of this creates an increasingly complex tapestry of attempts to rein in the potential misuse of AI. 🛁 As I reflect on these events, I also can't help but be concerned about the daunting task ahead. With every new regulation or accord, we try to plug the holes of the metaphorical "leaking bathtub." With each leak we cover, we risk opening new and unforeseen ones. Trial and error works insofar as we can connect the effect to the error; with the immaterial nature of AI's effects, and the quantity of responses, I am not particularly sure that we'll be able to make that connection. 🌐 The Munich Security Conference may have set the stage, but it's the global community's collective actions and reflections that will determine the direction we take. As we venture into this uncertain future, it's clear that the discourse around AI and election integrity is more than just a policy debate—it's a reflection of our values and vision for the digital age.