California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently issued a warning to executives at social media and tech companies to take stronger measures in safeguarding voters from deception, intimidation, and dissuasion. This caution came just ahead of the upcoming November election. Bonta emphasized the critical role that social media platforms and artificial intelligence services play in providing news and information to millions of Californians.
The letter from Bonta reminded the CEOs of Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Reddit, TikTok, X, and YouTube about the existing California laws that prohibit activities that interfere with voting rights. These laws include misleading people about voting place and time and the use of intimidation tactics. Moreover, the distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate within 60 days of an election is strictly prohibited by the state law.
The warning from California’s Attorney General follows instances where popular figures like Taylor Swift and Kamala Harris were targeted with misleading information and doctored images. Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris led to the circulation of AI-generated images falsely stating that she had endorsed Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Elon Musk shared an AI-generated image depicting Harris as a communist dictator, contributing to misinformation and deception.
Various AI technologies like Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s Dall-E and Chat GPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Elon Musk’s xAI have been identified as tools that can rapidly generate images and text based on prompts. These advancements have raised concerns about the potential misuse of AI to create fake content, especially involving political figures. The emergence of products like Grok-2, which seemingly have fewer limitations in generating fake images of political figures, adds to the urgency of addressing this issue.
It is imperative for tech companies to prioritize the protection of voter rights and prevent the spread of misinformation and deceptive content on their platforms. By adhering to California laws and implementing stringent measures against the misuse of AI technologies, these companies can contribute to a more transparent and trustworthy electoral process. The recent warnings from California’s Attorney General serve as a reminder of the importance of upholding democratic principles and ensuring the integrity of elections in the digital age.
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