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Meta Fends Off AI-Aided Deception as US Election Nears

Meta Fends Off AI-Aided Deception as US Election Nears
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Meta Fends Off AI-Aided Deception as US Election Nears

Meta Fends Off AI-Aided Deception as US Election Nears

Russia is putting generative artificial intelligence to work in online deception campaigns, but its efforts have been unsuccessful, according to a Meta security report released Thursday.
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram found that so far AI-powered tactics "provide only incremental productivity and content-generation gains" for bad actors and Meta has been able to disrupt deceptive influence operations.
Meta's efforts to combat "coordinated inauthentic behavior" on its platforms come as fears mount that generative AI will be used to trick or confuse people in elections in the United States and other countries, said AFP.
Facebook has been accused for years of being used as a powerful platform for election disinformation.
Russian operatives used Facebook and other US-based social media to stir political tensions in the 2016 election won by Donald Trump.
Experts fear an unprecedented deluge of disinformation from bad actors on social networks because of the ease of using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or the Dall-E image generator to make content on demand and in seconds.
AI has been used to create images and videos, and to translate or generate text along with crafting fake news stories or summaries, according to the report.
Russia remains the top source of "coordinated inauthentic behavior" using bogus Facebook and Instagram accounts, Meta security policy director David Agranovich told reporters.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, those efforts have been concentrated on undermining Ukraine and its allies, according to the report.
As the US election approaches, Meta expects Russia-backed online deception campaigns to attack political candidates who support Ukraine.
Behavior based
When Meta scouts for deception, it looks at how accounts act rather than the content they post.
Influence campaigns tend to span an array of online platforms, and Meta has noticed posts on X, formerly Twitter, used to make fabricated content seem more credible.
Meta shares its findings with X and other internet firms and says a coordinated defense is needed to thwart misinformation.
"As far as Twitter (X) is concerned, they are still going through a transition," Agranovich said when asked whether Meta sees X acting on deception tips.
"A lot of the people we've dealt with in the past there have moved on."
X has gutted trust and safety teams and scaled back content moderation efforts once used to tame misinformation, making it what researchers call a haven for disinformation.
False or misleading US election claims posted on X by Musk have amassed nearly 1.2 billion views this year, a watchdog reported last week, highlighting the billionaire's potential influence on the highly polarized White House race.
Researchers have raised alarm that X is a hotbed of political misinformation.
They have also flagged that Musk, who purchased the platform in 2022 and is a vocal backer of Donald Trump, appears to be swaying voters by spreading falsehoods on his personal account.
"Elon Musk is abusing his privileged position as owner of a... politically influential social media platform to sow disinformation that generates discord and distrust," warned Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
Musk recently faced a firehose of criticism for sharing with his followers an AI deepfake video featuring Trump's Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Technology

China Curbs Exports of Key Chipmaking Components to US

The flag of China is placed next to the elements of Gallium and Germanium on a periodic table, in this illustration picture taken on July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
The flag of China is placed next to the elements of Gallium and Germanium on a periodic table, in this illustration picture taken on July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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China Curbs Exports of Key Chipmaking Components to US

The flag of China is placed next to the elements of Gallium and Germanium on a periodic table, in this illustration picture taken on July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
The flag of China is placed next to the elements of Gallium and Germanium on a periodic table, in this illustration picture taken on July 6, 2023. (Reuters)

Beijing said Tuesday it would restrict exports to the United States of some key components in making semiconductors, after Washington announced curbs targeting China's ability to make advanced chips.

Among the materials banned from export are metals gallium, antimony and germanium, Beijing's commerce ministry said in a statement that cited "national security" concerns.

Exports of graphite, another key component, will also be subject to "stricter reviews of end-users and end-uses", the ministry said.

"To safeguard national security interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation, China has decided to strengthen export controls on relevant dual-use items to the United States," Beijing said.

"Any organization or individual in any country or region violating the relevant regulations will be held accountable according to the law," it added.

In its own latest curbs, Washington on Monday announced restrictions on sales, without additional permission, to 140 companies including Chinese chip firms Piotech and SiCarrier.

They also impact Naura Technology Group, which makes chip production equipment, according to the US Commerce Department.

The move expands Washington's efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, which can be used in advanced weapons systems and artificial intelligence.

The new US rules also include controls on two dozen types of chip-making equipment and three kinds of software tools for developing or producing semiconductors.

Beijing swiftly vowed to defend its interests, saying the United States "abuses export control measures" and has "hindered normal economic and trade exchanges".

- 'Weaponized' trade -

And on Tuesday, China said Washington had "politicized and weaponized economic, trade and technological issues" as it unveiled its own export curbs.

The moves also restrict the exports of "dual-use items to United States military users or for military purposes", Beijing said.

China accounts for 94 percent of the world's production of gallium -- used in integrated circuits, LEDs and photovoltaic panels -- according to a report by the European Union published this year.

For germanium, essential for fiber optics and infrared, China makes up 83 percent of production.

Beijing last year had already tightened restrictions on exporters of the metals, requiring them to provide information on the final recipient and give details about their end use.

But the curbs unveiled Tuesday now ban them outright.

It had also previously restricted curbs on exports of certain types of graphite --also key to making batteries for electric vehicles.

"The move is clearly a retaliatory strike at the US," Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, told AFP.

"It drives home an important point which is that China is not completely passive (and) there are some cards it can play and hit the US with as well with regards to chips," Loh added.

These "back and forth curbs" could create supply chain disruption, as well as inflationary pressures, should they affect trade for third parties, said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science from the National University of Singapore.

But while the metals play critical roles in high-tech industries, they are upstream in the supply chain, which means their immediate impact on production "is limited", Brady Wang, associate director at technology market research firm Counterpoint, told AFP.

"As the US-China trade tensions have persisted for some time, many intermediary manufacturers in the supply chain have been stockpiling these materials," Wang added.