According to Decrypt, Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, has updated its policies to prevent the use of its generative AI tools in political advertising and areas subject to stringent regulation, such as politics, employment, and credit services. This move reflects growing concerns about AI's potential to disseminate false information, particularly during political campaigns. To establish a secure framework for AI deployment, Meta has explicitly prohibited the use of these tools for creating content related to sensitive subjects, including elections and health products.
Generative AI refers to a suite of tools and apps that can prompt artificial intelligence to generate images, text, music, and videos. Meta's decision follows the rapid development of AI capabilities in the broader industry, spurred by OpenAI's ChatGPT last year. Companies are competing to introduce AI-driven features, but safety measures have largely remained under wraps. Google, another major player in the digital ad space, has also adopted a cautious stance, excluding political keywords from AI-generated ads and requiring transparency for election-related advertisements featuring synthetic content. Social media platforms TikTok and Snapchat have opted out of political ads altogether, while Twitter has not ventured into AI-powered ad tools.
The discussion on AI ethics and policy is intensifying, with Meta's policy chief, Nick Clegg, emphasizing the need for updated rules to govern the intersection of AI and politics. In line with these concerns, Meta has taken measures to prevent the realistic AI depiction of public figures and to watermark AI-generated content, further tightening controls over AI-generated misinformation in the public sphere. This critical dialogue gained momentum as Meta's Oversight Board announced it would review the company's handling of a manipulated video of U.S. President Joe Biden, highlighting the challenges platforms face in distinguishing between harmful misinformation and permissible content such as satire. President Biden has also issued a 26-point executive order seeking to reign in AI developments both domestically and internationally.