Amazon: In the midst of Amazon's vast marketplace, notorious for dubious product sources and fake reviews, a peculiar trend has emerged. A charming dresser, boasting a "natural finish" and three functional drawers, raises eyebrows not for its design but for its AI-generated product name: "I cannot fulfill this request; it goes against OpenAI use policy."  This amusing nomenclature highlights a concerning practice where companies appear to hastily employ ChatGPT for crafting entire product descriptions, including names, without adequate proofreading. The resulting mishaps, like falsely claiming two drawers instead of three, hint at a misguided attempt to optimize content for search engines.  The larger question looms: Is Amazon diligently reviewing the products featured on its platform? While uncertainty surrounds this issue, Amazon responded to inquiries by stating, "We work hard to provide a trustworthy shopping experience for customers, including requiring third-party sellers to provide accurate, informative product listings. We have removed the listings in question and are further enhancing our systems."  The prevalence of OpenAI's chatbot-generated content extends beyond a single product. A cursory search on Amazon reveals various items, such as an outdoor sectional and a bike pannier, featuring the same OpenAI disclaimer in their descriptions.  Products like a polyurethane hose and a tropical bamboo lounger exhibit similar oddities, with AI-generated names expressing apologies or refusals based on OpenAI use policy. Even a recliner chair by "khalery" boldly states, "I'm Unable to Assist with This Request; it goes Against OpenAI use Policy and Encourages Unethical Behavior."  While some product listings seem harmless, the broader issue lies in a future of e-commerce where vendors, often resellers, automate the process of crafting names and descriptions using AI chatbots. Amazon, serving as a platform for these faceless entities, appears complicit in this practice, raising concerns about the carelessness in product listings.  Considering Amazon's history of grappling with AI-generated reviews and potentially unsafe products, the emergence of AI-generated names and descriptions adds another layer of complexity to the challenges faced by the e-commerce giant. While the immediate impact may be less severe than safety concerns, it underscores the need for vigilance in monitoring and regulating AI-driven content in online marketplaces.
—Updated with comment from Amazon

Discover the pitfalls of AI-generated product names on Amazon. Uncover how OpenAI use policy violations raise concerns in online retail practices.

Amazon Features Products with AI-Generated Names Such as "OpenAI Use Policy Violation - Unable to Fulfill Request

The talent agency WME announced a partnership with the technology firm Vermillio on Tuesday that it hopes will protect its clients from having their likenesses misused through artificial intelligence technology.
Vermillio has created a platform, Trace ID, that could insulate WME clients from thefts of their likeness and intellectual property by using AI technology to track images. The partnership will also look for ways to use the technology to allow clients to monetise their likeness and image themselves.  The use of AI and how to protect these assets was a major point of contention in last year's actors strike. Even after a deal with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the actors' union, was ratified, some performers remained dissatisfied with the AI protections. The contract, for instance, does not prohibit studios from populating screens with "synthetic fakes," which can be created through AI by melding recognizable features from real actors to fabricate a character.  AI-generated images also proliferate online, such as the fake, sexually explicit images of Taylor Swift that appeared online last week.  WME said its primary concern was protecting its clients.  "We have been at this for a while to try and tackle this issue so that our clients have protections in place to at least start to address what is clearly a rampant issue," said Chris Jacquemin, WME's head of digital strategies.  Deepfakes involving well-known actors and entertainers have been an issue for years. The relatively recent emergence of more sophisticated AI, however, has exacerbated the problem. In January, a fake ad for the cookware maker Le Creuset appeared on Facebook. It featured what purported to be Swift offering free cookware in exchange for users' personal information. Neither Swift nor Le Creuset was involved in the promotion.  "You have no real ability to stop it other than manually stumbling across it," Jacquemin said of that type of scam. "Vermillio starts to automate that process."  WME's clients will now give their identifying digital data to Vermillio to be recorded and protected on the blockchain. Vermillio said it would then be able to track and authenticate images of the clients that appear online. Those images could then either be removed, or the clients could decide to ask for payment. Vermillio would get a share of that revenue.  WME and Vermillio said the partnership could also help compensate performers if studios wanted, for instance, to use AI to have someone's voice translate content into other languages.  Dan Neely, the entrepreneur behind Vermillio, said: "With this authenticity, talent can provide fans the novel entertainment experiences they want while protecting and empowering themselves."
—International New York Times

WME partners with Vermillio to protect clients from AI misuse. Trace ID platform ensures image security, monetization, and blockchain protection.

Using artificial intelligence, Hollywood agency and tech startup aim to protect artists

Islamabad: Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday claimed victory in the country's general election in an audio-visual message created using artificial intelligence and shared on his X social media account.
<a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1756043812617572637?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1756043812617572637%7Ctwgr%5E60584cdbdfefb2b9014b3779502092de74e57f9f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.deccanherald.com%2Fworld%2Fpakistans-jailed-ex-pm-imran-khan-claims-election-victory-2888793" target="_self">https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1756043812617572637?</a>
In the message, which is usually delivered by word through his lawyers, Khan rejected rival Nawaz Sharif's earlier claim to victory. Khan called on his supporters to celebrate a win that was achieved despite what he calls a crackdown on his party.  Independent candidates backed by Khan won the most seats in Thursday's national election, despite him being in jail and his party barred from the polls.
—Reuters

Imran Khan declares victory in Pakistan election via AI message, challenging Nawaz Sharif. Independent candidates win despite party restrictions.

Pakistan's jailed ex-PM Imran Khan claims election victory after rival Nawaz Sharif says he's won

New Delhi [India]: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate Upendra Singh Rawat on Monday announced that he will not contest any elections until proven innocent in a case where an alleged 'obscene' video involving him went viral on social media platforms. Upendra Singh Rawat, who is currently representing Barabanki in the Lok Sabha, was again fielded by the BJP to contest from the same constituency in the upcoming General elections.
In a post on X, Upendra Singh Rawat said, "An edited video of mine is being made viral, which is generated by DeepFake AI technology, for which I have lodged an FIR. In this regard, I have requested the party's national president to get it investigated. I will not contest any election in public life until I am proven innocent." The police have registered a case on behalf of the complaint given by Upendra Singh Rawat in this regard. Earlier, a popular Bhojpuri singer, Pawan Singh, withdrew from the race for the Lok Sabha. BJP had fielded him from Asansol seat. Taking to his official handle on X, the singer confirmed that he was pulling out of the contest however he did not specifically mentioned any reason. "I express my heartfelt gratitude to the top leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party. The party trusted me and declared me as the candidate from West Bengal's Asansol but due to some reason, I will not be able to contest the elections from Asansol," Singh posted from his X handle on Sunday. Setting the pace ahead of its rivals, the BJP, on March 2, released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.The list included 47 youth candidates, 28 women candidates, 27 Scheduled Caste (SC) faces, 18 Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates and 57 OBC/Backward Class nominees. Of the 195 candidates, 34 are ministers from the Center and States, while two are former chief ministers who are on the list. The Lok Sabha polls are slated to be held in April-May this year.
—ANI

BJP candidate Upendra Singh Rawat withdraws from Lok Sabha elections over a controversial 'obscene' video, claims innocence and seeks thorough investigation.

BJP candidate Upendra Singh Rawat opts out of Lok Sabha polls after 'obscene' video goes viral

New Delhi: Alphabet Inc-owned Google has joined hands with Election Commission of India (ECI) to elevate authoritative information and enable people to easily discover critical voting information on Google Search and YouTube. The search engine has also put in place measures to prevent spread of false information, and label AI-generated data during the upcoming general elections, a blog post said on Tuesday. “We are collaborating with ECI to enable people to easily discover critical voting information on Google Search - such as how to register and how to vote - in both English and Hindi,” Google said.
It said that for news and information related to the election, YouTube’s recommendation system prominently surfaces content from authoritative sources on the YouTube homepage, in search results, and highlights high-quality content from authoritative news sources.  Additionally, Google said it is setting up processes to help audiences identify AI-generated content.  “As more advertisers leverage the power and opportunity of AI, we want to make sure we continue to provide people with greater transparency and the information they need to make informed decisions. Our ads policies already prohibit the use of manipulated media to mislead people, like deepfakes or doctored content,” it said.  Google has already started displaying labels for content created with YouTube generative AI features, like Dream Screen.  “Soon, YouTube will begin to require creators to disclose when they’ve created realistic altered or synthetic content, and will display a label that indicates for people when they’re watching this content,” it said.
The blog post further said the company has begun to roll out restrictions on the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses.  The popular search engine said they have set policies around demonstrably false claims in areas like manipulated content, incitement to violence, hate speech, and harassment, that could undermine democratic processes.  Google has set strict policies and restrictions around who can run election-related advertising on its platforms. These include identity verification, certification and authorisation by the ECI, and financier disclosures.  “We take our responsibility for providing high-quality information for these types of queries seriously, and are continuously working to improve our protections,” the blog post said.  Google said it has recently joined the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), and pledged to help prevent deceptive AI-generated imagery, audio or video content from interfering with this year’s global elections.  Earlier, Google had introduced the Google News Initiative Training Network and the Fact Check Explorer tool to enable newsrooms and journalists deliver reliable, fact-checked updates to debunk misinformation.  Additionally, Google is supporting Shakti, India Election Fact-Checking Collective, which is a consortium of news publishers and fact-checkers in India working together to aid the early detection of online misinformation, including deepfakes, and to create a common repository that news publishers can use to tackle the challenges of misinformation at scale.  “Google is committed to working with government, industry, and civil society and surface and connect voters to authoritative and helpful information online,” the blog post said. —PTI

Google and ECI unite to shield upcoming elections from misinformation, boosting access to credible information and marking AI-generated content for informed voter decisions.

Google ties up with ECI to elevate authoritative information

New York: China is likely to deploy Artificial Intelligence-generated content via social media to sway public opinion to boost its geopolitical interests during elections in countries like India, South Korea and the US, tech giant Microsoft has warned.
Voting for 543 Lok Sabha seats in India will take place between April 19 and June 4, spread across seven phases.  South Koreans will go to the polls in a general election on April 10 while the US will hold the Presidential election on November 5.  "With major elections taking place around the world this year, particularly in India, South Korea and the United States, we assess that China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content to benefit its interests," Clint Watts, General Manager, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, said in a blog post.
Despite the chances of such content in affecting election results remaining low, China's increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will likely continue – and may prove more effective down the line, he said.  China will do it along with North Korea, he wrote.  These are among the Microsoft Threat Intelligence insights in the latest East Asia report published on Wednesday by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC).  China is using fake social media accounts to poll voters on what divides them most to sow division and possibly influence the outcome of the US presidential election in its favour.  China has also increased its use of AI-generated content to further its goals around the world.  North Korea has increased its cryptocurrency heists and supply chain attacks to fund and further its military goals and intelligence collection. It has also begun to use AI to make its operations more effective and efficient.  Beijing will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October, and North Korea will continue to push forward key advanced weapons programmes, the report said.  "Meanwhile, as populations in India, South Korea, and the United States head to the polls, we are likely to see Chinese cyber and influence actors, and to some extent, North Korean cyber actors, work toward targeting these elections," it said.  China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content that benefits its positions in these high-profile elections, it said.  "While Chinese cyber actors have long conducted reconnaissance of US political institutions, we are prepared to see influence actors interact with Americans for engagement and to potentially research perspectives on US politics," the report said.  "Finally, as North Korea embarks upon new government policies and pursues ambitious plans for weapons testing, we can expect increasingly sophisticated cryptocurrency heists and supply chain attacks targeted at the defence sector, serving to both funnel money into the regime and facilitate the development of new military capabilities," it added.
—PTI

Microsoft warns of China's potential use of AI to influence elections in India, South Korea, and the US, highlighting the cyber battleground shaping future politics.

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Amazon Features Products with AI-Generated Names Such as "OpenAI Use Policy Violation - Unable to Fulfill Request

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Amazon Features Products with AI-Generated Names Such as "OpenAI Use Policy Violation - Unable to Fulfill Request

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