China may misuse AI to target elections in India, other nations: Microsoft

‘… as populations in India, South Korea, and the United States head to the polls, we are likely to see Chinese cyber and influence actors … work toward targeting these elections,’ the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) said in its report.

China has increased its use of AI-generated content to further its goals around the world. Credit: Reuters Photo

New York: China is likely to deploy Artificial Intelligence-generated content via social media to sway public opinion to boost its geopolitical interests during elections in countries like India, South Korea and the US, tech giant Microsoft has warned.

Voting for 543 Lok Sabha seats in India will take place between April 19 and June 4, spread across seven phases.

South Koreans will go to the polls in a general election on April 10 while the US will hold the Presidential election on November 5.

“With major elections taking place around the world this year, particularly in India, South Korea and the United States, we assess that China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content to benefit its interests,” Clint Watts, General Manager, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, said in a blog post.

Despite the chances of such content in affecting election results remaining low, China’s increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will likely continue – and may prove more effective down the line, he said.

China will do it along with North Korea, he wrote.

These are among the Microsoft Threat Intelligence insights in the latest East Asia report published on Wednesday by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC).

China is using fake social media accounts to poll voters on what divides them most to sow division and possibly influence the outcome of the US presidential election in its favour.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/world/china-may-misuse-ai-to-target-elections-in-india-us-to-boost-geopolitical-interests-microsoft-2967744

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