According to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the US election in 2024 might become a “mess” if social media platforms do nothing to stop the spread of fraudulent information created by AI. Schmidt pleaded with social media companies to actively combat false news and AI-generated fake content on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
The US presidential election of 2024 is drawing near. Additionally, candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties will compete for entry into the Oval Office of the White House. The days before an election are often rife with talk of misinformation and bogus news. Elections in 2024 will not be an exception after US Senators took action to assess the layoffs in Big Tech in the next election. An ex-Google CEO has issued a warning regarding the effects of AI and the bogus stuff it produces.
“The 2024 elections are going to be a mess,” said Eric Schmidt, who worked at Google from 2001 to 2011. “Social media is not shielding us from falsely generated AI.” The tech billionaire continued, saying that while platforms are still attempting to find a solution, the issue still needs to be resolved. In addition, he claimed that to counteract misinformation, safety groups on social media platforms are becoming smaller rather than larger.
Eric Schmidt, a former Google CEO, issues a warning regarding the impact of AI on the 2024 US presidential election.
Eric Schmidt has already issued warnings regarding the risks posed by the unchecked growth of AI. In a recent statement, he described AI as an “existential risk” that might even be used to murder people. Schmidt added that short-term risks to AI include false information.
Schmidt, the executive chairman of Alphabet and the previous CEO of Google, responded to YouTube’s recent decision to permit viewers to contest the legitimacy of the 2020 election. He says social media sites should help “free speech for humans, not computers.” The recently made announcement by Google-owned YouTube stated that it would “stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 elections.”
What strategies social media companies will employ to combat false information and AI-generated fake material during the 2024 election remains to be seen. The ability of the platform to deal with bogus content may be significantly impacted, according to lawmakers, by the layoffs. The US senators also requested that the content moderation teams at Meta, Google, and Twitter determine whether they needed to expand their staff.
