Any topic directly related to elections in India will not be answered by Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Gemini. This is part of the features rolled out by Google for internet users to access useful and relevant information as India prepares for elections.
“Out of an abundance of caution on such an important topic, we have begun to roll out restrictions on the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses. We take our responsibility for providing high-quality information for these types of queries seriously and are continuously working to improve our protections,” Google said in a blog post related to the India elections on Tuesday.
This feature has been rolled out in the US and now in India. It will be extended to all geographies that will have elections this year.
Google is also strengthening its fact-checking ecosystem in India by supporting Shakti, the India Election Fact-Checking Collective – a consortium of news publishers and fact checkers – 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.
To help users identify AI-generated content, Google has already rolled out tools and policies. “Last year, we were the first tech company to launch new disclosure requirements for election ads containing synthetic content… Our ads policies already prohibit the use of manipulated media to mislead people, like deepfakes or doctored content,” said the blog.
Moreover, when it comes to images, Google will ensure every image generated through its products has embedded watermarking with Google DeepMind’s SynthID.
Other than these, online advertising related to elections must undergo an identity verification process. “Provide a pre-certificate issued by the ECI or anyone authorized by the ECI for each election ad they want to run where necessary, and have in-ad disclosures that clearly show who paid for the ad,” said the blog.
First Published: Mar 12 2024 | 6:42 PM IST