Tech giant, Microsoft, and ChatGPT maker, OpenAI, have launched a $2 million Societal Resilience Fund to tackle AI misinformation and educate people around the world on the technology.
The two companies disclosed this in a joint statement released on Tuesday. Specifically, they said the fund will be targeted at AI education and literacy among voters and vulnerable communities as several countries go to the poll this year.
“In a year when two billion people across the globe will vote in democratic elections, it is more important than ever to provide tools and information that will help people navigate an increasingly complex digital ecosystem and find authoritative resources,” the companies said.
The companies further explained that grants delivered from the fund will help several organizations, including Older Adults Technology Services from AARP (OATS), the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and Partnership on AI (PAI) to deliver AI education and support their work to create a better understanding of AI capabilities.
With this fund, Microsoft and OpenAI said they are working together to promote “whole-of-society resilience against the use of deceptive AI content.”
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According to two companies, whose partnership has fuelled the spread of ChatGPT AI tool, the Societal Resilience Fund is a joint effort that follows through on public commitments that Microsoft and OpenAI have made via the White House Voluntary Commitments and the Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in the 2024 Elections, in which they have committed to engage with a diverse set of global civil society organizations and academics, committing to support efforts to foster public awareness and all-of-society resilience.
“Our shared goals are to combat the growing risk of bad actors using AI and deepfakes to deceive the voters and undermine democracy.
“The launch of the Societal Resilience Fund is just one step that represents Microsoft and OpenAI’s commitment to address the challenges and needs in the AI literacy and education space.
“Microsoft and OpenAI will remain dedicated to this work, and we will continue to collaborate with organizations and initiatives that share our goals and values.”
AI misinformation
With the rise in the development and usage of AI tools, there have been concerns over the rise of AI-generated misinformation content.
Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) had, in its Global Risks Report 2024listed AI-generated misinformation/disinformation as one of the top risks that countries globally will face this year.
The report, which details the findings of the Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS), revealed that the advancement in AI technology now makes it easy for people to create and spread misinformation. According to the report, 53% of the respondents saw AI misinformation as the biggest global risk in 2024, bringing it to number two out of the top 10 risks for this year, after extreme weather, which topped the risks table.