China might use AI to influence elections in India, US, South Korea, Microsoft warns

In a recent blog post, software giant Microsoft has raised concerns about China’s potential use of AI-generated content to advance its interests, especially with major elections scheduled in countries like India, South Korea, and the United States this year.

The blog, drawing insights from Microsoft Threat Intelligence, references the latest East Asia report titled “Same targets, new playbooks: East Asia threat actors employ unique methods.”

“With significant elections unfolding worldwide, particularly in India, South Korea, and the United States, we anticipate that China will leverage AI-generated content to influence outcomes in its favor,” the blog highlighted.

The report also highlights the involvement of North Korean cyber threat actors in targeting elections in these three countries.

Microsoft’s findings suggest that while the immediate impact of China’s AI-generated content on election results may be limited, ongoing experimentation and the augmentation of memes and videos could potentially yield more effective results in the future.

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“Although the likelihood of such content directly impacting election outcomes is currently low, China’s increasing experimentation with memes, videos, and audio augmentation is expected to persist and could prove increasingly influential over time,” the blog concluded.

Government quickly sprung into action to check AI-generated deepfakes after a fake video of Bollywood actor Rashmika Mandanna went viral.

Further, the Ministry of Electronics and IT issued dedicated guidelines for AI-generated content after a controversy erupted over a response of Google’s AI platform to queries related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Microsoft’s threat intelligence report shared screenshots of AI-generated videos in Mandarin and English which alleged that the US and India were responsible for unrest in Myanmar.

The report claims that it has found China-based threat actors continue to target entities related to China’s economic and military interests.

The company’s threat intelligence team claims to have observed targets of a China-based cyber attackers group Flx Typhoon in the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, and the United States in the early fall and winter of 2023.

With inputs from PTI