The Integrity Project

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Tech Companies Are Taking Action on AI Election Misinformation. Will It Matter?

Photo: Dave Adamson on Unsplash

TIME
Meta announced Wednesday (Nov. 8) that it would require labels for political ads that have been digitally altered, using AI or other technology, in ways that could be misleading.

The announcement comes a day after Microsoft announced it was also taking a number of steps to protect elections, including offering tools to watermark AI-generated content and deploying a “Campaign Success Team” to advise political campaigns on AI, cybersecurity, and other related issues.

Next year will be the most significant year for elections so far this century, with the U.S., India, the U.K., Mexico, Indonesia, and Taiwan all headed to the polls. Although many are concerned about the impact deepfakes and misinformation could have on elections, many experts stress the evidence for their impacts on elections so far is limited at best. Experts welcome the measures taken by tech companies to defend election integrity but say more fundamental changes to political systems will be required to tackle misinformation. MORE