Trending
Chinese Interference in Indian General Elections? Microsoft Warns…
Microsoft has raised concerns about China’s potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) to disrupt upcoming elections in the United States, South Korea, and India. According to a report from Microsoft’s threat intelligence team, Chinese state-backed cyber groups, with some participation from North Korea, are expected to target these high-profile elections in 2024. The report highlighted that China might use AI-generated content on social media to favor their interests in these elections.
The tech giant pointed out that while the influence of AI-generated content on public opinion has been minimal so far, China’s growing experiments with AI to create memes, videos, and audio could become more impactful over time. Microsoft cited the Taiwan presidential election in January as an example, where a Beijing-supported group known as Storm 1376 used AI to produce misleading content, including a fake audio endorsement and negative memes about certain candidates.
Recent Incidents and Future Implications
During the Taiwanese election, the group posted AI-generated audio on YouTube and spread unfounded accusations against the pro-sovereignty candidate William Lai. Although these attempts were thwarted with YouTube removing the deceptive content, Microsoft warns of the potential effectiveness of such tactics in future elections.
ALSO READ: X’s Community Notes Makes India Debut Ahead of General Elections
Additionally, the report mentioned the use of AI-generated TV news anchors to spread false information, a method also adopted by other countries like Iran. Microsoft identified the use of the CapCut tool, developed by ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, in creating these virtual news anchors.
With the increasing sophistication of AI in generating realistic content, Microsoft’s report underscores the need for vigilance in monitoring and combating disinformation campaigns, especially in the context of democratic processes like elections.