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
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.
Poland's main opposition party, the Civic Platform (PO), has faced controversy for using AI to generate fake quotes in an election campaign advert that juxtaposed them with genuine clips of the prime minister, leading to calls for clearer labeling of AI-generated content.
Experts at UVA Center for Politics warn about the risks of using artificial intelligence and deepfakes to manipulate elections.
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.
Google has updated its political advertising policies to require politicians to disclose the use of synthetic or AI-generated images or videos in their ads, aiming to prevent the spread of deepfakes and deceptive content.
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.
AI on social media platforms, both as a tool for manipulation and for detection, is seen as a potential threat to voter sentiment in the upcoming US presidential elections, with China-affiliated actors leveraging AI-generated visual media to emphasize politically divisive topics, while companies like Accrete AI are employing AI to detect and predict disinformation threats in real-time.
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.
Generative AI can be used to create unbiased representations of politicians based on text prompts, generating images that often reflect regional stereotypes.
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.
AI poses serious threats to the quality, integrity, and ethics of journalism by generating fake news, manipulating facts, spreading misinformation, and creating deepfakes, according to an op-ed written by Microsoft's Bing Chat AI program and published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The op-ed argues that AI cannot replicate the unique qualities of human journalists and calls for support and empowerment of human journalists instead of relying on AI in journalism.
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.
Minnesota Democrats are calling for regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) in elections, expressing concerns about the potential for AI to deceive and manipulate voters, while also acknowledging its potential benefits for efficiency and productivity in election administration.
Foreign actors using artificial intelligence (AI) to influence elections is an evolving threat, with generative AI and large language models being uniquely suited to internet-era propaganda, as election interference becomes an arms race in the AI era which is likely to be more sophisticated than previous attempts in 2016.
A nonprofit called AIandYou is launching a public awareness campaign to educate voters about the potential impact of AI on the 2024 election, including using AI-generated deepfake content to familiarize voters with this technology.
China's use of artificial intelligence (AI) to manipulate social media and shape global public opinion poses a growing threat to democracies, as generative AI allows for the creation of more effective and believable content at a lower cost, with implications for the 2024 elections.
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.
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.
The rise of false and misleading information on social media, exacerbated by advances in artificial intelligence, has created an authenticity crisis that is eroding trust in traditional news outlets and deepening social and political divisions.
AI tools have the potential to both enhance and hinder internet freedom, as they can be used for censorship and propaganda by autocratic regimes, but also for evading restrictions and combating disinformation. Countries should establish frameworks for AI tool creators that prioritize civil liberties, transparency, and safeguards against discrimination and surveillance. Democratic leaders need to seize the opportunity to ensure that AI technology is used to enhance freedom rather than curtail it.
