At least 20 prominent technology companies have vowed to combat deceptive AI interference in the elections slated to take place in the coming months across several countries of the world, including India and the US, two of the biggest democracies.
The coalition that includes such companies as Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft, made the announcement at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
The pledge underscores a concerted effort among tech giants to fortify the integrity of democratic systems worldwide.
More than four billion voters across over 40 countries this year are anticipated to vote.
"The 'Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections' is a set of commitments to deploy technology countering harmful AI-generated content meant to deceive voters.
"Signatories pledge to work collaboratively on tools to detect and address online distribution of such AI content, drive educational campaigns, and provide transparency, among other concrete steps," the companies stated in their press release.
The accord targets digital content encompassing AI-generated audio, video, and images designed to deceitfully manipulate the appearance, voice, or conduct of political candidates, election authorities, and other pivotal figures in democratic processes.
It also aims to combat misinformation disseminated to voters regarding crucial details such as voting procedures, locations, and schedules.
"With so many major elections taking place this year, it's vital we do what we can to prevent people being deceived by AI-generated content," said Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs at Meta.
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X said, "In democratic processes around the world, every citizen and company has a responsibility to safeguard free and fair elections, that's why we must understand the risks AI content could have on the process. X is dedicated to playing its part, collaborating with peers to combat AI threats while also protecting free speech and maximizing transparency."
"Democracy rests on safe and secure elections," said Kent Walker, President, Global Affairs at Google.
The advancement in generative AI which is capable of generating text, images, and video swiftly in response to prompts, has amplified concerns that this emerging technology could be exploited to influence significant elections scheduled for this year.
Here is the full list of companies that are part of the declaration: Adobe, Amazon, Anthropic, Arm, ElevenLabs, Google, IBM, Inflection AI, LinkedIn, McAfee, Meta, Microsoft, Nota, OpenAI, Snap Inc., Stability AI, TikTok, Trend Micro, Truepic, and X
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