Microsoft Steps Up Election Security with New Deepfake Detection Tool Ahead of 2024 Vote

Microsoft Corp MSFT introduced a new tool for U.S. politicians and campaign organizations to combat the proliferation of deepfakes as the 2024 presidential election approaches. 

The tool, as explained by Microsoft President Brad Smith on the company's blog, enables the verification of content authenticity through watermarking.

Also Read: ChatGPT Parent OpenAI's Bold $1B Ambition Amidst Nvidia's Q2 Triumph and Google's AI Expansion

This cryptographic service creates a traceable record for images and videos, making it possible for anyone to verify if the media has been tampered with or AI-generated over time, Bloomberg reports.

Initially, Microsoft looks to offer the tool for free to political candidates and might extend it to more groups after the 2024 U.S. elections.

Microsoft's offer coincides with growing concerns over the repercussions of AI-generated images and videos as U.S. citizens prepare to vote for a new president into office in November 2024. Meta Platforms Inc META also cracked down on the perpetration of misinformation by social media by prohibiting political campaigns and advertisers in other regulated industries from using its new generative AI ad products.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is also heavily invested in generative AI, pumping $10 billion into OpenAI, the creator of popular AI image generator Dall-E.

In response to the growing threat of deepfakes, U.S. senators have proposed legislation prohibiting their use in election-related activities. Moreover, Microsoft's latest threat intelligence report reiterates concerns about foreign interference in U.S. elections, although the 2022 midterms did not experience major cyber incidents as anticipated.

Price Action: MSFT shares are trading higher by 0.21% at $361.28 premarket on the last check Wednesday.