AI watermarks may protect elections against ‘deepfakes’

WATERMARKS could be added to content made using artificial intelligence to safeguard elections against bad actors peddling “deepfakes”.

The Government is speaking to tech companies about the prospect of adding special markers to Ai-generated material to help identify forgeries aimed at spreading disinformation.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said ministers must be “fully prepared” for the threats at hand as “nobody could predict what is going to happen in the election” with regards to AI.

With several countries going to the polls for major votes this year, she said it is important to be “on the front foot”, exploring “all potential mitigations to ensure that we do defend democracy”.

Officials have been talking to AI companies about possible uses for watermarks across the board, with the technique thought to have clear benefits for elections.

The idea is to make it easier to identify counterfeits made using artificial intelligence, such as fake pictures and video, by adding distinctive markers to Ai-generated content, which can be extracted using specialist algorithms.

It comes amid concerns deepfakes could be used to target female politicians, with John Pullinger, the elections chief, warning women running for office will bear the brunt of Ai-generated disinformation.

The Government’s efforts to safeguard elections are being led by the Defending Democracy Taskforce, headed up by Tom Tugendhat, the security minister.

Ms Donelan said watermarks are one solution up for debate, but there is no “silver bullet”. She said: “We are in conversations with AI companies on potential tools to identify content produced by AI. Nobody could predict what is going to happen in the election in regards to use of AI.”

Ms Donelan was speaking ahead of a trip to Canada, where she will announce a new “expert exchange programme” aimed at removing logistical barriers to AI safety research on both sides of the Atlantic. The scheme will provide grants worth £3,500 for up to 35 applicants across the UK and Canada.