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Anti-misinfo AI tapped by Washington secretary of state is FLAGGING real news stories as fakes
Anti-misinfo AI tapped by Washington secretary of state is FLAGGING real news stories as fakes
An artificial intelligence (AI) program tapped by the Washington Secretary of State (WASOS) to monitor potential election "misinformation" is under fire for flagging real news stories as fake.
According to the National Pulse, the WASOS hired the England-based AI firm Logically in 2023 to scan for "false content" on various social media platforms. Per the state's contract with Logically, the British company is mandated to use its AI tools to identify "harmful narratives" concerning the Evergreen State's elections and generate reports for the state secretary's review.
The company did generate reports it was tasked to do last summer but included two stories from the Center Square about illegals unlawfully voting in the state. One story touched on the Evergreen State's election laws, while the other talked about an incident in which a foreign national avoided prosecution after illegally voting 28 times.
The British firm argued in its reports that the two stories were deemed as "misinformation" due to how social media users interpreted them.
The first story was deemed as such due to users concluding that "no government agency in Washington State has the mandate or authority to verify the citizenship of registered voters." In addition, some users reportedly claimed it was "intentional negligence by Washington authorities to enable voter fraud. Meanwhile, the second story was deemed as "misinformation" as it may "motivate individuals to call for stricter voter registration laws and more oversight of the process."
WASOS spokesman Derrick Nunnally said neither Logically nor his office has used the reports to push for the censorship of news stories. He also insisted that the British AI company's reports have also not been utilized to label social media users as having spread "misinformation."
AI will see more uses as the 2024 election nears
The WASOS' use of AI isn't the first time the technology was tapped ahead of the elections this November, and it certainly won't be the last. In fact, technology giant Microsoft has expressed its intent to utilize AI to address election-related mis- and disinformation.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced this plan during a Jan. 30 appearance on "NBC Nightly News." His response came as an answer to program host Lester Holt's question about how AI might either assist or endanger future elections. However, according to Reclaim the Net, "Nadella's response seemed to imply a willingness to use technology for censoring content in pursuit of fighting what he identified as disinformation."
"This is not the first election where we dealt with disinformation or propaganda campaigns by adversaries and election interference," the Microsoft CEO said. "We're doing all the work across the tech industry around watermarking, detecting deep fakes and content IDs. There is going to be enough and more technology quite frankly in order to be able to identify the issues around disinformation and misinformation." (Related: Microsoft CEO hints that upcoming AI "misinformation" censorship tools might DISABLE your Windows PC for questioning establishment narratives about the election.)
Reclaim the Net also pointed out that "concerns are growing over the role of Big Tech companies in moderating 'misinformation,' particularly due to the fear that these corporations already wield significant power and influence [that] could potentially sway political outcomes, including elections."
"Many worry that the concentrated power in these tech giants allows them to arbitrarily define what constitutes misinformation, leading to a situation where they could suppress certain viewpoints or information. This raises questions about the impartiality and fairness of such moderation, especially in the context of political discourse and the democratic process. The debate is fueled by the concern that these companies, due to their size and reach, could have a disproportionate impact on public opinion and electoral processes."
Head over to Robots.news for more stories about the use of AI ahead of the 2024 elections.
Listen to the Health Ranger Mike Adams as he explains how AI is being weaponized against people.
This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.
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