WASHINGTON - Tech giants including Meta, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI are working on a pact to jointly crack down on artificial intelligence (AI) content intended to deceive voters ahead of crucial elections around the world in 2024, companies involved said on Feb 13.

Currently under negotiation by the companies, this so-called “accord” on deepfakes and other dangerous content is set to be announced during the Munich Security Conference on Feb 16.

“In a critical year for global elections, technology companies are working on an accord to combat the deceptive use of AI targeted at voters,” a spokesperson for Meta said in an e-mailed statement to AFP on Feb 13.

“Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok and others are working jointly towards progress on this shared objective,” the statement added.

According to the Washington Post, which first reported the existence of the project, the companies will agree to develop ways to identify, label and control AI-generated images, videos and audio that aim to deceive voters.

The idea comes as big tech companies are under considerable pressure over fears that AI-powered applications could be misused in a pivotal election year.

Meta, Google and OpenAI have already agreed to use a common watermarking standard that would tag images generated by their AI applications, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot or Google’s Gemini (formerly Bard).

Recent examples of convincing AI deepfakes have only heightened worries about the easily accessible technology.

In January, a robocall impersonation of United States President Joe Biden pushed out to tens of thousands of voters urged people not to cast ballots in the New Hampshire primary.

In Pakistan, the party of former prime minister Imran Khan has used AI to generate speeches from their jailed leader. AFP