Main Topic: Increasing use of AI in manipulative information campaigns online.
Key Points:
1. Mandiant has observed the use of AI-generated content in politically-motivated online influence campaigns since 2019.
2. Generative AI models make it easier to create convincing fake videos, images, text, and code, posing a threat.
3. While the impact of these campaigns has been limited so far, AI's role in digital intrusions is expected to grow in the future.
### Summary
Rep. Jake Auchincloss emphasizes the need to address the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) without delay and warns against allowing AI to become "social media 2.0." He believes that each industry should develop its own regulations and norms for AI.
### Facts
- Rep. Jake Auchincloss argues that new technology, including AI, has historically disrupted and displaced parts of the economy while also enhancing creativity and productivity.
- He cautions against taking a one-size-fits-all approach to regulate AI and advocates for industry-specific regulations in healthcare, financial services, education, and journalism.
- Rep. Auchincloss highlights the importance of holding social media companies liable for allowing defamatory content generated through synthetic videos and AI.
- He believes that misinformation spread through fake videos could have significant consequences in the 2024 election and supports amending Section 230 to address this issue.
- Rep. Auchincloss intends to prioritize addressing these concerns and hopes to build consensus on the issue before the 2024 election.
- While he is focused on his current role as the representative for the Massachusetts Fourth district, he does not rule out future opportunities in any field but expresses his satisfaction with his current position.
### Summary
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is making it difficult for the public to differentiate between real and fake content, raising concerns about deceptive fake political content in the upcoming 2024 presidential race. However, the Content Authenticity Initiative is working on a digital standard to restore trust in online content.
### Facts
- Generative AI is capable of producing hyper-realistic fake content, including text, images, audio, and video.
- Tools using AI have been used to create deceptive political content, such as images of President Joe Biden in a Republican Party ad and a fabricated voice of former President Donald Trump endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' White House bid.
- The Content Authenticity Initiative, a coalition of companies, is developing a digital standard to restore trust in online content.
- Truepic, a company involved in the initiative, uses camera technology to add verified content provenance information to images, helping to verify their authenticity.
- The initiative aims to display "content credentials" that provide information about the history of a piece of content, including how it was captured and edited.
- The hope is for widespread adoption of the standard by creators to differentiate authentic content from manipulated content.
- Adobe is having conversations with social media platforms to implement the new content credentials, but no platforms have joined the initiative yet.
- Experts are concerned that generative AI could further erode trust in information ecosystems and potentially impact democratic processes, highlighting the importance of industry-wide change.
- Regulators and lawmakers are engaging in conversations and discussions about addressing the challenges posed by AI-generated fake content.
### Summary
ChatGPT, a powerful AI language model developed by OpenAI, has been found to be used by a botnet on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to generate auto-generated content promoting cryptocurrency websites. This discovery highlights the potential for AI-driven disinformation campaigns and suggests that more sophisticated botnets may exist.
### Facts
- ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a language model that can generate text in response to prompts.
- A botnet called Fox8, powered by ChatGPT, was discovered operating on social media platform X.
- Fox8 consisted of 1,140 accounts and used ChatGPT to generate social media posts and replies to promote cryptocurrency websites.
- The purpose of the botnet's auto-generated content was to lure individuals into clicking links to the crypto-hyping sites.
- The use of ChatGPT by the botnet indicates the potential for advanced chatbots to be running undetected botnets.
- OpenAI's AI models have a usage policy that prohibits their use for scams or disinformation.
- Large language models like ChatGPT can generate complex and convincing responses but can also produce hateful messages, exhibit biases, and spread false information.
- ChatGPT-based botnets can trick social media platforms and users, as high engagement boosts the visibility of posts, even if the engagement comes from other bot accounts.
- Governments may already be developing or deploying similar AI-powered tools for disinformation campaigns.
The Associated Press has released guidance on the use of AI in journalism, stating that while it will continue to experiment with the technology, it will not use it to create publishable content and images, raising questions about the trustworthiness of AI-generated news. Other news organizations have taken different approaches, with some openly embracing AI and even advertising for AI-assisted reporters, while smaller newsrooms with limited resources see AI as an opportunity to produce more local stories.
Researchers at Virginia Tech have used AI and natural language processing to analyze 10 years of broadcasts and tweets from CNN and Fox News, revealing a surge in partisan and inflammatory language that influences public debates on social media and reinforces existing views, potentially driving a wedge in public discourse.
AI Algorithms Battle Russian Disinformation Campaigns on Social Media
A mysterious individual known as Nea Paw has developed an AI-powered project called CounterCloud to combat mass-produced AI disinformation. In response to tweets from Russian media outlets and the Chinese embassy that criticized the US, CounterCloud produced tweets, articles, and even journalists and news sites that were entirely generated by AI algorithms. Paw believes that the project highlights the danger of easily accessible generative AI tools being used for state-backed propaganda. While some argue that educating users about manipulative AI-generated content or equipping browsers with AI-detection tools could mitigate the issue, Paw believes that these solutions are not effective or elegant. Disinformation researchers have long warned about the potential of AI language models being used for personalized propaganda campaigns and influencing social media users. Evidence of AI-powered disinformation campaigns has already emerged, with academic researchers uncovering a botnet powered by AI language model ChatGPT. Legitimate political campaigns, such as the Republican National Committee, have also utilized AI-generated content, including fake images. AI-generated text can still be fairly generic, but with human finesse, it becomes highly effective and difficult to detect using automated filters. OpenAI has expressed concern about its technology being utilized to create tailored automated disinformation at a large scale, and while it has updated its policies to restrict political usage, it remains a challenge to block the generation of such material effectively. As AI tools become increasingly accessible, society must become aware of their presence in politics and protect against their misuse.
Deceptive generative AI-based political ads are becoming a growing concern, making it easier to sell lies and increasing the need for news organizations to understand and report on these ads.
Generative AI is being used to create misinformation that is increasingly difficult to distinguish from reality, posing significant threats such as manipulating public opinion, disrupting democratic processes, and eroding trust, with experts advising skepticism, attention to detail, and not sharing potentially AI-generated content to combat this issue.
AI technology is making it easier and cheaper to produce mass-scale propaganda campaigns and disinformation, using generative AI tools to create convincing articles, tweets, and even journalist profiles, raising concerns about the spread of AI-powered fake content and the need for mitigation strategies.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, have the potential to supercharge disinformation campaigns in the 2024 elections, increasing the quantity, quality, and personalization of false information distributed to voters, but there are limitations to their effectiveness and platforms are working to mitigate the risks.
Artificial intelligence will play a significant role in the 2024 elections, making the production of disinformation easier but ultimately having less impact than anticipated, while paranoid nationalism corrupts global politics by scaremongering and abusing power.
AI-generated deepfakes have the potential to manipulate elections, but research suggests that the polarized state of American politics may actually inoculate voters against misinformation regardless of its source.
Google will require verified election advertisers to disclose when their ads have been digitally altered, including through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), in an effort to promote transparency and responsible political advertising.
Chinese operatives have used AI-generated images to spread disinformation and provoke discussion on divisive political issues in the US as the 2024 election approaches, according to Microsoft analysts, raising concerns about the potential for foreign interference in US elections.
Microsoft researchers have discovered a network of fake social media accounts controlled by China that use artificial intelligence to influence US voters, according to a new research report.
Artificial intelligence (AI) poses a high risk to the integrity of the election process, as evidenced by the use of AI-generated content in politics today, and there is a need for stronger content moderation policies and proactive measures to combat the use of AI in coordinated disinformation campaigns.
China is employing artificial intelligence to manipulate American voters through the dissemination of AI-generated visuals and content, according to a report by Microsoft.
Concerns about artificial intelligence and democracy are assessed, with fears over AI's potential to undermine democracy explored, including the threat posed by Chinese misinformation campaigns and the call for AI regulation by Senator Josh Hawley.
With the rise of AI-generated "Deep Fakes," there is a clear and present danger of these manipulated videos and photos being used to deceive voters in the upcoming elections, making it crucial to combat this disinformation for the sake of election integrity and national security.
More than half of Americans believe that misinformation spread by artificial intelligence (AI) will impact the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, with supporters of both former President Trump and President Biden expressing concerns about the influence of AI on election results.
China's influence campaign using artificial intelligence is evolving, with recent efforts focusing on sowing discord in the United States through the spread of conspiracy theories and disinformation.
Social media companies are at risk of not being able to combat misinformation during the 2024 elections due to language barriers, experts warn, as the Global Coalition for Tech Justice calls on leading tech companies to ensure platforms are equipped to protect democracy and user safety.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the new focus of concern for tech-ethicists, surpassing social media and smartphones, with exaggerated claims of AI's potential to cause the extinction of the human race. These fear-mongering tactics and populist misinformation have garnered attention and book deals for some, but are lacking in nuance and overlook the potential benefits of AI.
Adversaries and criminal groups are exploiting artificial intelligence (AI) technology to carry out malicious activities, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray, who warned that while AI can automate tasks for law-abiding citizens, it also enables the creation of deepfakes and malicious code, posing a threat to US citizens. The FBI is working to identify and track those misusing AI, but is cautious about using it themselves. Other US security agencies, however, are already utilizing AI to combat various threats, while concerns about China's use of AI for misinformation and propaganda are growing.
AI-generated content is becoming increasingly prevalent in political campaigns and poses a significant threat to democratic processes as it can be used to spread misinformation and disinformation to manipulate voters.
AI-generated deepfakes pose serious challenges for policymakers, as they can be used for political propaganda, incite violence, create conflicts, and undermine democracy, highlighting the need for regulation and control over AI technology.
AI-generated images have the potential to create alternative history and misinformation, raising concerns about their impact on elections and people's ability to discern truth from manipulated visuals.
Deepfake images and videos created by AI are becoming increasingly prevalent, posing significant threats to society, democracy, and scientific research as they can spread misinformation and be used for malicious purposes; researchers are developing tools to detect and tag synthetic content, but education, regulation, and responsible behavior by technology companies are also needed to address this growing issue.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to facilitate deceptive practices such as deepfake videos and misleading ads, posing a threat to American democracy, according to experts who testified before the U.S. Senate Rules Committee.
The proliferation of fake news generated by AI algorithms poses a threat to media outlets and their ability to differentiate between true and false information, highlighting the need for human curation and the potential consequences of relying solely on algorithms.
Foreign actors are increasingly using artificial intelligence, including generative AI and large language models, to produce and distribute disinformation during elections, posing a new and evolving threat to democratic processes worldwide. As elections in various countries are approaching, the effectiveness and impact of AI-produced propaganda remain uncertain, highlighting the need for efforts to detect and combat such disinformation campaigns.
AI is increasingly being used to build personal brands, with tools that analyze engagement metrics, target audiences, and manage social media, allowing for personalized marketing and increased trust and engagement with consumers.
Artificial intelligence should not be used in journalism, particularly in generating opinion pieces, as AI lacks the ability to understand nuances, make moral judgments, respect rights and dignity, adhere to ethical standards, and provide context and analysis, which are all essential for good journalism. Additionally, AI-generated content would be less engaging and informative for readers and could potentially promote harmful or biased ideas.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a positive force for democracy, particularly in combatting hate speech, but public trust should be reserved until the technology is better understood and regulated, according to Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs for Meta.
Lawmakers are pressuring social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to explain their lack of rules to curb the harms of AI-generated political advertisements ahead of the 2024 US presidential election.
Lawmakers are calling on social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, to take action against AI-generated political ads that could spread election-related misinformation and disinformation, ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Google has already announced new labeling requirements for deceptive AI-generated political advertisements.
The corruption of the information ecosystem, the spread of lies faster than facts, and the weaponization of AI in large language models pose significant threats to democracy and elections around the world.
AI-generated stickers are causing controversy as users create obscene and offensive images, Microsoft Bing's image generation feature leads to pictures of celebrities and video game characters committing the 9/11 attacks, a person is injured by a Cruise robotaxi, and a new report reveals the weaponization of AI by autocratic governments. On another note, there is a growing concern among artists about their survival in a market where AI replaces them, and an interview highlights how AI is aiding government censorship and fueling disinformation campaigns.
Generative AI tools, including Facebook's AI sticker generator, are being used to create controversial and inappropriate content, such as violent or risqué scenes involving politicians and fictional characters, raising concerns about the misuse of such technology.
