Massive Elections Flood the 2024 Global Stage... Emergency Over 'AI Misuse'

Cases of Misuse Emerge in US Presidential Primary Elections
Countries and AI Companies Quickly Agree on Regulatory Measures

The pace of artificial intelligence (AI) development has accelerated beyond expectations, raising alarms across the globe in this 'year of elections.'

On the 23rd (local time), British daily The Guardian and others reported that U.S. President Joe Biden signed an 'Executive Order on Safe and Trustworthy AI' at the end of last year ahead of the presidential election this November. This order requires AI system developers to share important government information, such as safety test results, with the government to address safety and security concerns regarding AI capabilities.

The European Union (EU) also agreed on a regulatory bill at the end of last year that classifies AI risks, enhances transparency, and imposes fines on companies that do not comply with related regulations. This was the world's first AI regulatory bill. Last week, 20 major information and communication companies including OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Microsoft (MS) pledged to work together to prevent AI-generated content that deceives voters. These companies announced this agreement at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany and voluntarily agreed to take measures such as detecting and labeling content that could mislead voters.

Approximately 40 countries will hold presidential, general, or parliamentary elections this year. Due to concerns that inadequate AI regulation could have adverse effects, countries and companies are moving quickly. Experts consider the false information generated by AI to be a serious threat to democracy, as it influences voters' decisions. Foreign media pointed out that digital media have become particularly vulnerable to AI misuse as many technology companies have laid off staff responsible for censoring AI-generated manipulated content.

In fact, deepfakes?fake content created by AI such as manipulated videos, images, and audio?have already infiltrated election campaigns. Last month, a day before the primary election in New Hampshire, U.S., Democratic Party members received phone calls featuring a fake voice of President Biden encouraging them to abstain from voting. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken measures such as banning AI-generated automated campaign calls, but concerns about the use of deepfakes in election campaigns continue to rise. Additionally, cases of AI misuse in election campaigns have been reported in Slovakia, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.