Some of the largest technology and social media companies in the world have agreed to a private compact in what they say is an effort to combat the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to disrupt the over 40 national elections being held around the world in 2024. Technology executives gathered in Munich, Germany, for a security conference and announced the voluntary framework on Friday. Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok were among the signatories.
The compact doesn’t commit signatories to any specific actions but does lay out strategies they intend to use to publicly identify AI-generated videos and images “that deceptively fake or alter the appearance, voice, or actions of political candidates, election officials, and other key stakeholders in a democratic election.” It states companies will share best practices, but the compact does not commit them to banning or removing deepfakes or other altered content.
Ahead of the summit, Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, stated: “Everybody recognizes that no one tech company, no one government, no one civil society organization is able to deal with the advent of this technology and its possible nefarious use on their own.” Meta is the parent company of social media giants Facebook and Instagram.
GOVERNMENT COLLUSION.
Concerns over deepfakes and other AI-altered content have increased as the nascent technology has rapidly improved over the last year. However, the compact also raises concerns about possible ongoing collusion between governments and technology companies aimed to censor citizens’ speech. Over the past year, there have been numerous instances of the U.S. and foreign governments pressuring social media companies to remove unfavorable content.
Last summer, a federal judge ordered the Biden government to cease communications with social media platforms for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”
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