Last week, 20 leading AI and platform companies announced their participation in a new Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections. The companies, which include Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and others, pledged to help prevent deceptive AI content from interfering with this year’s elections worldwide.
“As society embraces the benefits of AI, we have a responsibility to help ensure these tools don’t become weaponized in elections,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft. He also called for “the development of new laws to address this evolving problem.” You can learn more in his Microsoft on the Issues blog, “Meeting the moment: combating AI deepfakes in elections through today’s new tech accord.”
You’ll find additional tech policy news and a featured podcast below. Thank you!
This Week in Washington
- The Washington Post: Top Democrats in Congress have joined with officials at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in pushing to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) before it runs out of funds in April. Efforts have included joint events featuring members of Congress and FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.
- CNN: The FBI and international law enforcement partners have seized the website of LockBit, a multinational ransomware gang that has been a part of ransomware attacks against multiple organizations, including healthcare providers.
- The Washington Post and New York Times: The Biden administration announced that they will give $1.5 billion in Chips and Science Act funding to GlobalFoundries to help them build a vast new computer chip factory in New York state. However, as the administration is beginning to roll out additional funding to strengthen U.S. efforts to develop this technology, companies’ U.S. expansion plans are facing new obstacles.
- CyberScoop: President Biden has signed a new executive order that will give the Coast Guard the authority to respond to cybersecurity incidents, as well as require the maritime sector to strengthen their digital defense and report any cyber incidents to the Coast Guard.
- Nextgov/FCW: Next month, the FCC will vote to authorize the creation of a voluntary cybersecurity labeling program for Internet of Things devices and other consumer-facing products that utilize the internet, checking off part of the Biden administration’s push to put labels on smart devices.
- StateScoop: In a letter to Congress, nine former FCC chairs urged Senate and House leaders to make a nationwide transition to the next generation 911, which is an internet-based system instead of telephone-based, a top priority.
Article Summary
- Associated Press: Intuitive Machines became the first private business to pull off a lunar landing after their craft Odysseus made contact with the moon’s surface. This is the first U.S. touchdown on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
- Bloomberg: Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank, is seeking $100 billion to fund Izanagi, a chip venture to compete with Nvidia Corp and build semiconductors critical to AI. If this project succeeds, it will be one of the largest investments in AI since ChatGPT.
- Wired: While deepfakes have been a major concern, especially with upcoming elections, due to their potential use for disinformation and reputation harm, several companies are embracing the technology and see it as a clever and catchy way to engage with customers.
- The Hill: The EU has opened a formal investigation into TikTok to review if the platform violated the Digital Services Act (DSA), their new online child protection rule.
- Vox: A video explainer details how advances in AI models that use historical weather data have released weather forecasts rivaling those created through traditional forecasting methods.
Featured Podcast
Microsoft
- Pivotal with Hayete Gallot
On this episode of Pivotal, we meet Matija Zulj, the founder and CEO of the Croatian software company AGRIVI. Mitija explains how his company’s new AI solution — AGRIVI Ed — is making a large trove of industry and environmental data available and accessible to farmers to help them make better, faster decisions that can significantly improve their crop yields and income. AGRIVI believes that the positive effects of agriculture’s digital transformation will extend beyond making farming more efficient and profitable — it also has the potential to entice a younger generation to join the industry, reduce food waste, and help solve the global problem of food insecurity. Empowering farmers with AI tools is the new frontier of digital agriculture, and it ensures our access to food for generations to come. (AGRIVI puts AI to work on farms worldwide – February 13, 2024)