Meta announces team to combat AI misuse in EU election

Facebook parent Meta has announced putting together a specialised team to address the disinformation and misuse of generative artificial intelligence (AI) during the European Parliament election slated in June.

The move comes against the backdrop of a pact earlier signed by major technology companies.

The 'Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections,' is a set of commitments to deploy technology countering harmful AI-generated content meant to deceive voters. The accord was signed by several tech firms, including Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft.

The fast expansion of GenAI, capable of swiftly producing text, images, and videos based on prompts, has raised concerns about its potential misuse in disrupting significant elections worldwide this year.

Scheduled to take place from June 6 to June 9, the European Parliament elections will see coming together of 720 lawmakers in formulating and enacting new policies and laws.

"As the election approaches, we'll activate an Elections Operations Center to identify potential threats and put mitigations in place in real time," Marco Pancini, Meta's head of EU affairs, said in a blogpost, reported Reuters.

According to Pancini, specialists from various departments within the company, including intelligence, data science, engineering, research, operations, content policy, and legal teams, will unite their efforts to combat misinformation, influence operations, and misuse of generative AI.

He announced that Meta, currently collaborating with 26 independent fact-checking organisations spanning 22 languages across the European Union, will expand its network by welcoming three additional partners in Bulgaria, France, and Slovakia.

Also read: OpenAI, Meta vow to combat AI-led election subversion in Munich declaration

More than four billion voters across over 40 countries this year are anticipated to vote in election across several countries.

"The 'Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections' is a set of commitments to deploy technology countering harmful AI-generated content meant to deceive voters.

"Signatories pledge to work collaboratively on tools to detect and address online distribution of such AI content, drive educational campaigns, and provide transparency, among other concrete steps," the companies signing the accord had earlier stated in a press release.