Meta sets ground rules for AI in politics

Whether you’re at a family get-together or surfing online, politics can be a dicey topic to explore. 

What happened: Meta will start requiring advertisers to disclose if they’ve used AI to create or alter political, social issue, or election-related ads on Facebook and Instagram, its latest step to curb the role of AI-generated deepfakes in the spread of election misinformation.

  • Earlier this week, Meta announced it would ban political advertisers from using its new generative AI ad tools, which can create digital ads with a single text prompt. 

  • Google also said it will implement a similar disclosure policy as Meta for “synthetic” ads, as well as block a list of political keywords from being used as prompts. 

Why it matters: With big elections coming to both Canada and the U.S. over the next two years — how is it almost 2024 already — having the world’s two biggest digital advertising platforms take steps to combat AI-generated misinformation will be a win for voters. 

Bottom line: AI-generated deepfakes are only going to get more convincing. Given that almost half of Canadians are already having a hard time identifying AI-generated content, the role of big platforms in policing deepfakes will only become more crucial.—LA