WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Tech giants including Meta,
Microsoft, Google and OpenAI are working on a pact to jointly crack down on
AI content intended to deceive voters ahead of crucial elections around the
world this year, companies involved said Tuesday.

Currently under negotiation by the companies, this so-called "accord" on
deepfakes and other dangerous content is set to be announced during the
Munich Security conference on Friday.

"In a critical year for global elections, technology companies are working on
an accord to combat the deceptive use of AI targeted at voters," a
spokesperson for Meta said in an emailed statement to AFP on Tuesday.

"Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok and others are working
jointly toward progress on this shared objective," the statement added.

According to the Washington Post, which first reported the existence of the
project, the companies will agree to develop ways to identify, label and
control AI-generated images, videos and audio that aim to deceive voters.

The idea comes as big tech companies are under considerable pressure over
fears that AI-powered applications could be misused in a pivotal election
year.

Meta, Google and OpenAI have already agreed to use a common watermarking
standard that would tag images generated by their AI applications, such as
OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot or Google's Gemini (formerly Bard).

Recent examples of convincing AI deepfakes have only heightened worries about
the easily accessible technology.

Last month, a robocall impersonation of US President Joe Biden pushed out to
tens of thousands of voters urged people to not cast ballots in the New
Hampshire primary.

In Pakistan, the party of former prime minister Imran Khan has used AI to
generate speeches from their jailed leader.