Tech companies plan to sign accord to combat AI-generated election trickery

NEW YORK — At least six major tech companies plan to sign an agreement this week that would provide guidelines on how they seek to end the use of artificial intelligence tools to disrupt democratic elections.

The upcoming event at the Munich Security Conference in Germany comes as more than 50 countries are set to hold national elections in 2024.

Attempts at AI-generated election interference have already begun, such as when AI robocalls mimicking US President Joe Biden’s voice tried to discourage people from voting in the New Hampshire primary last month.

“In a crucial year for global elections, technology companies are working on an agreement to combat the misleading use of AI targeting voters,” a joint statement from several companies said on Tuesday. “Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok and others are working together to make progress on this shared goal and we hope to finalize and present the details at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.”

The companies declined to share details about what is in the agreement. Many have already said they are protecting their own generative AI tools that can manipulate images and sounds, while also working to identify and label AI-generated content so social media users know if what they are seeing is real.

X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, was not named in the statement and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.