Microsoft and OpenAI joined hands to raise a $2 million fund to remove the growing risk of AI and  deep fakes used for election purposes by deceiving voters. This is a global concern as more than 2  billion people will head to the election booths in over 50 countries, and AI can influence many of these  voters. 

As time goes by, these deepfakes are looking more and more real. The fast development of generative  AI including ChatGPT is becoming a threat involving AI-generated deepfakes to spread misinformation.  These new tools are available widely and are being used by people to create fake audio, video, or  photos of high-profile celebrities and political entities. Recently, India’s Election Commission issued an  order to political parties to avoid using AI, Deepfakes, or other similar tools in their online campaigns  during elections. Following this concern, all major tech giants including OpenAI and Microsoft signed  voluntary pledges to counter such risks. 

These two companies came together to build a framework to address deep fakes-related concerns  about spreading misinformation and misleading voters. The companies have already introduced restrictions on their software. Google doesn’t allow the Gemini AI chatbot to answer election-related queries, similarly, Facebook’s parent Meta also limits elected-related responses via its chatbot. To  strengthen information reliability, OpenAI launched a deep fake detector, a tool designed to detect  fake content generated by its DALL-E image generator.  

The startup also joined the steering committee for the industry body the C2PA, which has members  including Microsoft, Abode, Intel, and Google. Microsoft’s corporate VP for technology and corporate  responsibility, Teresa Houston, highlighted in a blog post that they will continue to collaborate with  companies that share the same goal and vision as theirs. He added that this societal Resilience Fund represents the commitment of both parties including Microsoft and OpenAI to address challenges and  needs in AI literacy and educational space.  

Conclusion: 

Microsoft and OpenAI raised $2 million fund collectively, to solve concerns regarding the use of AI generated content to mislead voters during elections. This is a global concern as more than 2 billion  people will head to the election booths in over 50 countries, and AI can influence many of these voters. These new tools are available widely and are being used by people to create fake audio, video, or  photos of high-profile celebrities and political entities.

The rise of generative AI including ChatGPT is  becoming a threat involving AI-generated deepfakes to spread misinformation. Recently, India’s  Election Commission issued an order to political parties to avoid using AI, Deepfakes, or other similar  tools in their online campaigns during elections. Following this concern, all major tech giants including OpenAI and Microsoft signed voluntary pledges to counter such risks. These two tech companies came  together to build a framework to address deep fakes-related concerns about spreading misinformation  and misleading voters. Teresa Houston, highlighted in a blog post that they will continue to collaborate with companies that share the same goal and vision