20 leading technology companies pledge to work together to detect and counter harmful Artificial Intelligence (AI) content at the Munich Security Conference.
The 60th edition of the Munich Security Conference took place from 16-18 February, with hundreds of politicians, security and military experts, and corporate giants gathering from around the world to discuss today's security challenges.
During the conference leading technology companies pledged to help prevent deceptive AI content from interfering with this year’s global elections in which more than four billion people in over 40 countries will vote.
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. It also includes a broad set of principles, including the importance of tracking the origin of deceptive election-related content and the need to raise public awareness about the problem. The accord is one important step to safeguard online communities against harmful AI content and builds on the individual companies’ ongoing work.
Digital content addressed by the accord consists of AI-generated audio, video, and images that deceptively fake or alter the appearance, voice, or actions of political candidates, election officials, and other key stakeholders in a democratic election, or that provide false information to voters about when, where, and how they can vote.
As of today, the signatories are: Adobe, Amazon, Anthropic, ARM, ElevenLabs, Google, IBM, Inflection AI, LinkedIn, McAfee, Meta, Microsoft, Nota, OpenAI, Snap, Stability AI, TikTok, TrendMicro, TruePic, and X.
Participating companies agreed to eight specific commitments:
- Developing and implementing technology to mitigate risks related to Deceptive AI Election content, including open-source tools where appropriate
- Assessing models in scope of this Accord to understand the risks they may present regarding Deceptive AI Election Content
- Seeking to detect the distribution of this content on their platforms
- Seeking to appropriately address this content detected on their platforms
- Fostering cross-industry resilience to Deceptive AI Election Content
- Providing transparency to the public regarding how the company addresses it
- Continuing to engage with a diverse set of global civil society organizations, academics
- Supporting efforts to foster public awareness, media literacy, and all-of-society resilience
These commitments apply where they are relevant for services each company provides.
“Elections are the beating heart of democracies,” said Christoph Heusgen, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference. “The Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 elections is a crucial step in advancing election integrity, increasing societal resilience, and creating trustworthy tech practices. MSC is proud to offer a platform for technology companies to take steps toward reigning in threats emanating from AI while employing it for democratic good at the same time.”