Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced that it will create a team to address the issue of deceptive artificial intelligence (AI) content in the forthcoming European Union (EU) elections in June. Specifically, it is concerned by the use of generative AI, which can create fake videos, images, and audio to mislead voters. This move comes as Home Secretary James Cleverly told the Times that people will use AI-created fake content to influence a general UK election.
Two weeks ago, Meta agreed with other large technology companies to fight against fake content, including AI-generated content. While TikTok also announced plans to launch “Election Centres” in different languages within its app, Facebook, as the dominant social media site in Europe, has particular responsibilities in this area.
Meta’s head of EU affairs, Marco Pancini, said that the company would launch “an EU-specific Elections Operations Centre” that would spot “potential threats and apply specific mitigations across our apps and technologies in real time.” The firm has more than 40,000 people working in safety and security-related roles, including 15,000 content reviewers who assess content across its different platforms and in more than 70 different languages.
Despite Meta’s move to counter AI-generated content, an industry expert has said that the company’s plans could be perceived as “lacking teeth.” One academic researcher has questioned how Meta plans to deal with AI-created images which could be complicated to spot as original or fake, and he also identified concerns that fake posts denying the legitimacy of the vote could be shared, which are banned on Facebook.
Meta currently collaborates with 26 fact-checking organizations across the EU, and it plans to add partners in Bulgaria, France, and Slovakia. These organizations will help to address the threat of deceptive content, including AI-generated content, by adding warning labels and reducing the prominence of suspect posts. This work requires cooperation in the industry, government, and society
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