OpenAI, the company specializing in artificial intelligence research, has announced the introduction of a new tool to combat misinformation ahead of elections taking place globally. The company, known for its research in artificial intelligence, launched a chatbot named ChatGPT in late November 2022, which garnered over 1 million users within a week.
While the success of ChatGPT has heralded a revolution in artificial intelligence, there is a cautionary note that such tools could potentially spread misinformation on the internet, affecting general elections. According to the international news agency AFP, elections are scheduled in at least 64 countries, including the United States, India, and the United Kingdom. OpenAI asserts that it will not allow the use of ChatGPT and the image generator DALL-E 3 for political campaigns.
In a blog post, OpenAI stated, "We want to ensure that our technology is not used in a way that could harm democratic processes." Currently, OpenAI is trying to understand the extent to which its tools can influence public opinion and has refrained from granting permission for political campaigns and lobbying until more information is available.
The World Economic Forum recently warned that the use of AI by OpenAI to spread misinformation poses a global threat, potentially undermining the stability of non-elected governments in major economies.
Experts have expressed concerns about misinformation during elections for years, but the use of AI tools by OpenAI to create fake texts and images could further complicate the situation. The heightened risk is particularly concerning because it becomes increasingly difficult for users to discern whether the content presented to them is genuine or fabricated.
During this time, OpenAI emphasizes that it is working on tools that will provide credits to the text generated through ChatGPT, making it clear that the content is generated by ChatGPT. Users will also be able to easily verify whether an image was created with the help of the AI image generator.