(This article is part of Today’s Cache, The Hindu’s newsletter on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, innovation and policy. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.)
ADVERTISEMENT
AI dangers in U.S. election
The 2024 U.S. election will be like none before them, as it is the first American presidential election to take place after the launch of ChatGPT. AI and technology experts have warned that the rise of cheap and ultra-fast generative AI tools could mean a wave of disinformation-related dangers that could sway if not outright influence the election results.
Experts have pointed out possible incidents such as robotic calls telling voters incorrect ballot dates, deepfakes of presidential candidates carrying out offensive/criminal acts, AI-generated fake media showing events that never took place, or even false news reports claiming that candidates were no longer in the presidential race to alter voting patterns.
ADVERTISEMENT
AI chat apps spike
A report by data intelligence platform Apptopia pointed to the spiking number of apps on app stores with phrases such as “AI Chatbot” or “AI Chat.” These apps have rocketed by 1480% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, while in-app purchase revenue shot up by over 4000% year-on-year in the first quarter. Over 150 AI chatbot apps were launched in app stores this year.
Users are evidently bringing more such apps to their devices, as downloads rose by a little over 1500%. The release of ChatGPT late last year has spurred Big Tech companies to develop and release more AI-enabled products for users.
Twitter censored in Turkey
Twitter owner Elon Musk has defended the social media company’s decision to censor some content in Turkey ahead of the country’s presidential election this month. The official Twitter Global Government Affairs account confirmed that access to some content was being restricted in Turkey, while the rest of the world would be able to see the content.
When journalist Matthew Yglesias accused Musk of complying with the Turkey government’s request to censor its opponents, the Twitter owner hit back saying that the choice was to either restrict some content or have Twitter “throttled in its entirety.”