Google has updated its political content policy to require disclosure of all AI-generated content in election advertisements beginning in November 2023.
Google is revising its political content policy to introduce a new requirement that mandates all verified election advertisers to disclose the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in their campaign materials.
On September 6th, the technology giant stated that these disclosures are obligatory when synthetic content is used to represent real or realistic-looking individuals or events in an inauthentic manner.
Furthermore, Google emphasized that these disclosures should be displayed where users can readily notice them.
“Ads that contain synthetic content altered or generated in such a way that is inconsequential to the claims made in the ad will be exempt from these disclosure requirements.”
Illustrative instances provided by Google encompass the application of AI in post-production processes such as resizing, cropping, color correction, or defect rectification, as long as these alterations do not result in the creation of lifelike depictions of actual occurrences.
This updated policy will apply to content formats, including images, videos, and audio, and it is scheduled to be implemented in mid-November 2023, as per the announcement.
Notably, this timeline coincides with the anticipation of the United States presidential elections scheduled for November 2024.
The matter of disclosures concerning AI-generated content has gained significant prominence since the proliferation of accessible AI tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has facilitated the creation and dissemination of such content.
With AI’s increasing ubiquity across diverse industries, Google and other major tech companies have intensified their commitment to AI tools and services.
A memorandum from Google’s CEO dated September 5th revealed that there has been contemplation of reorienting Google as an “AI-first company” since the CEO’s arrival in 2015.
On August 17th, Google enhanced its search engine by incorporating AI-powered features to streamline search functions.
Additionally, Google has collaborated with OpenAI and Microsoft to establish the ‘Frontier Model Forum,’ a platform for automated AI development within the industry.
Google’s interest in formulating AI-related policies extends to its various platforms, including YouTube, which recently published its guiding “principles” for engaging with the music industry on AI-related technology.
