Microsoft has issued a warning and in its statement, has said that China is planning to disrupt the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 with the help of AI. Along with Indian elections, China plans on disrupting elections in other countries as well.
New Delhi: India is gearing up for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the polling of which will be conducted in seven phases – the first beginning from April 19, 2024. Days before the General Elections in India, Microsoft has issued a warning making a shocking claim. According to the tech giant, China is planning to disrupt the polls in India with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and along with India, it is also planing to cause a hindrance to elections in other countries including the US Presidential Elections 2024. Here’s what Microsoft has to say…
China Planning To Disrupt Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Microsoft
As mentioned earlier, in a major news update, tech company Microsoft has issued a warning saying that China is planning on disrupting the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in India along with the US Presidential Elections and those being held in South Korea, with the help of AI. This warning follows the trial run of the Taiwan Presidential Elections done by China where AI played a part in influencing the outcome of the polls.
Microsoft Threat Intelligence Team Issues Warning
According to a report by NDTV, the Threat Intelligence Team of Microsoft has said cyber groups backed by China will be targeting elections being held in different countries across the world in 2024. According to the tech company, China may deploy content generated by artificial intelligence through social media, to change or affect public opinion in favour of their nation’s interests. In its statement, Microsoft said, “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.”
Role Of AI In Taiwan Elections By China
As said before, the trial run of the Taiwan Elections conducted in China had a lot of AI influence. The Beijing-backed group Storm 1736 was active and it circulated content including fake audio endorsements and memes against certain candidates. Explaining this, Microsoft said, “Storm-1376 has promoted a series of AI-generated memes of Taiwan’s then-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate William Lai, and other Taiwanese officials as well as Chinese dissidents around the world. These have included an increasing use of AI-generated TV news anchors that Storm-1376 has deployed since at least February 2023.”
The AI-influence that could disrupt elections in India majorly includes deceptive and false content, deepfakes and other means to discredit the candidates.