Microsoft and OpenAI have established a $2 million fund to mitigate the risks of AI and deepfakes being used to manipulate voters and undermine democracy. With a record 2 billion people expected to vote in elections across 50 countries this year, there are concerns about AI's influence, particularly on vulnerable communities.
Generative AI, including chatbots like ChatGPT, has led to a new threat landscape involving AI-generated deepfakes that spread disinformation. These tools are widely available, enabling the creation of fake videos, photos, or audio of political figures. Major tech companies, including Microsoft and OpenAI, have signed pledges to counter such risks and plan to build a common framework to address deepfakes created to mislead voters.
Major AI companies are also introducing restrictions in their software to address these risks. For instance, Google's Gemini AI chatbot won't answer questions about elections, and Facebook's parent Meta is limiting election-related responses via its AI chatbot.
OpenAI launched a deepfake detector for disinformation researchers, designed to identify fake content generated by its DALL-E image generator. It also joined the steering committee for the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), which includes members like Adobe, Microsoft, Google, and Intel.
The new "societal resilience fund" is part of a broader responsible AI initiative, with Microsoft and OpenAI aiming to enhance AI education and literacy among voters and vulnerable communities. They plan to issue grants to organizations like Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), C2PA, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), and Partnership on AI (PAI).
These grants aim to improve understanding of AI and its capabilities across society. For example, OATS will use its grant for training programs for those aged 50 and over in the U.S., covering the foundational aspects of AI. Microsoft and OpenAI's commitment to addressing the challenges in the AI literacy and education space is represented by the launch of this fund.
