As the 2024 U.S. Presidential elections are coming closer, former CEO of Google Eric Schmidt asserted that misinformation will rise since new tools and services have made artificial intelligence (AI) more accessible. On CNBC’s Squawk Box, in conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin, Schmidt said, “The 2024 elections are going to be a mess because social media is not protecting us from false generated AI.” Schmidt further added, “They’re working on it, but they haven’t solved it yet. And in fact, the trust and safety groups are getting made smaller, not larger.”
Also Read: Google DeepMind is apparently building a ChatGPT killer AI bot
Elaborating on the greater concern that is posed by the long-term effects of AI on society, which include the potential for technology to gain human like qualities, though a very debatable subject, we surely are advancing towards it. Schmidt added that “the short-term danger is misinformation.”
Recently, Google stopped its steps towards removing false claims about the widespread fraud that allegedly took place around the 2020 U.S. elections from YouTube. The company’s move comes at a time when the firm seeks to strike a balance between protecting the community and being a forum for open discussion.
When Eric Schmidt was asked about policy changes, Schmidt contended that social media should allow for “free speech for humans, not computers.” Schmidt further added, “What social media should do is mark all the content, know who the users are, and hold people accountable if they violate the law.” Schmidt expressed, “It doesn’t solve the problem of, you and I disagree on facts, but at least it establishes a basis that these are humans who are making these claims.”
Back in January, on the eve of National Voters’ Day, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar addressed the “anti-democratic” talks, how fake news and misinformation can hamper the electoral process, and the money and power game that challenges the spirit of the democratic electoral process. In an article by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) that was issued by the Election Commission of India, he drew attention to the rampant fake news on social media that could overwhelm election management.
The CEC wrote, “Retention and deepening of democratic spaces through credible electoral outcomes, worldwide, stands at a cusp. Sheer scale and speed with which social media can disseminate the facts and views/fake news has a propensity to overwhelm other aspects of the technology in election management. Unconstrained by underpinning of moral and legal spaces, which govern EC’s role & framework, anti-democratic chatter uses technology as an effective tool of its trade.”
The issue of misinformation and fake news around elections, be it in the U.S. or in India, looks like an unavoidable phenomenon. Though the electoral process lies at the heart of any democracy, the prime agenda of coming to power should be to serve the people, enrich their lives, and uplift them. However, this agenda has been taken over by an individual’s dream, not to serve people but rather to serve themselves. Even if the fake news or misinformation is not spread by a party or any candidate, one side or the other stands to benefit from such an online catastrophe.
Also Read: AudiopaLM is Google’s new large language model that can speak and listen
AI, meanwhile, is here to fit in between the good and the bad. While one can take the help of AI to respond to the uncountable queries the citizens pose online during the elections, this advancement can also aid in spamming and spreading information that could mislead the citizens. Now, even if the tech giants are taking cognizance of the same while trying to continue being an open online forum, it is for the greater benefit of the people that such a spread of misinformation is curtailed. India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and its democratic nature enhances it further. However, this rampant fake news around the elections makes things look glum, and only time will tell whether the AI is going to aid in ceasing it or make things worse.