Meta reported finding likely AI-generated content used deceptively on Facebook and Instagram, praising Israel’s handling of the Gaza conflict in comments under posts from global news organisations and US lawmakers. This campaign, linked to the Tel Aviv-based political marketing firm STOIC, targeted audiences in the US and Canada by posing as various concerned citizens. STOIC has not commented on the allegations.
Meta’s quarterly security report marks the first disclosure of text-based generative AI technology used in influence operations since its emergence in late 2022. While AI-generated profile photos have been identified in past operations, the use of text-based AI raises concerns about more effective disinformation campaigns. Despite this, Meta’s security team successfully disrupted the Israeli campaign early and maintained confidence in their ability to detect such networks.
The report detailed six covert influence operations disrupted in the first quarter, including an Iran-based network focused on the Israel-Hamas conflict, which did not use generative AI. As Meta and other tech giants continue to address potential AI misuse, upcoming elections in the EU and the US will test their defences against AI-generated disinformation.
Google will invest $2 billion to establish its first data centre and Google Cloud region in Malaysia, marking a significant expansion into Southeast Asia. This investment will be located in Sime Darby Property’s Elmina Business Park in central Selangor. It aims to advance Malaysia’s digital ambitions, offering AI capabilities and other advanced technologies to enhance the local industry’s global competitiveness.
The new data centre will support services like Search, Maps, and Workspace, while the cloud centre will cater to local businesses and public sector organisations. Google’s Chief Financial Officer, Ruth Porat, emphasised the partnership’s role in fostering an ecosystem for innovation and driving digital transformation in Malaysia. This collaboration builds on a previous agreement announced last November between the Malaysian government and Google to accelerate domestic innovation.
The move is part of a broader trend of global tech giants’ significant investments in Southeast Asia. Microsoft has committed $2.2 billion to cloud services in Malaysia and $1.7 billion in Indonesia. Additionally, Malaysian conglomerate YTL is partnering with Nvidia in a $4.3 billion AI infrastructure project, while Amazon plans to invest $9 billion in Singapore, $5 billion in Thailand, and $6 billion in Malaysia.
OpenAI has secured licensing agreements with The Atlantic and Vox Media, expanding its partnerships with publishers to enhance its AI products. These deals allow OpenAI to display news from these outlets in products like ChatGPT and use their content to train its AI models. Although financial terms were not disclosed, this move follows similar agreements with major publishers like News Corp., Dotdash Meredith, and The Financial Times.
Executives from The Atlantic and Vox Media emphasised that these partnerships will help readers discover their content more easily. Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, highlighted the importance of AI in future web navigation and expressed enthusiasm for making The Atlantic’s stories more accessible through OpenAI’s platforms.
Additionally, these agreements will provide the publishers access to OpenAI’s technology, aiding them in developing new AI-powered products. For instance, The Atlantic is working on Atlantic Labs, an initiative focused on creating AI-driven solutions using technology from OpenAI and other companies.
In just over two months, Paris will host the eagerly awaited 2024 Summer Olympics, welcoming athletes from around the globe. These athletes had a condensed preparation period due to the COVID-related delay of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took place in Tokyo in 2021. While athletes hone their skills for the upcoming games, organisers diligently fortify their defences against cybersecurity threats.
As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, there’s a growing focus on leveraging AI to combat them. Blackbird.AI has developed Constellation, an AI-powered narrative intelligence platform that identifies and analyses disinformation-driven narratives. By assessing the risk and adding context to these narratives, Constellation equips organisations with invaluable insights for informed decision-making.
The platform’s real-time monitoring capability allows for early detection and mitigation of narrative attacks, which can inflict significant financial and reputational damage. With the ability to analyse various forms of content across multiple platforms and languages, Constellation offers a comprehensive approach to combating misinformation and safeguarding against online threats.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also embracing AI, recognising its potential to enhance various aspects of sports. From talent identification to improving judging fairness and protecting athletes from online harassment, the IOC is leveraging AI to innovate and enhance the Olympic experience. With cybersecurity concerns looming, initiatives like Viginum, spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron, aim to counter online interference and ensure the security of major events like the Olympics.
The European Commission has launched the AI Office to oversee the development, deployment, and regulation of AI in the EU. The AI Office ensures that AI fosters societal and economic benefits while managing associated risks. It will play a crucial role in implementing the AI Act, especially for general-purpose AI models. It will also support research and innovation to position the EU as a leader in trustworthy AI.
The AI Office comprises several specialised units. The Regulation and Compliance Unit will enforce the AI Act across the EU, working with member states to administer sanctions and handle investigations. The ‘AI Safety Unit’ will identify and mitigate risks associated with powerful AI models. The ‘Excellence in AI and Robotics Unit’ will fund research and coordinate the GenAI4EU initiative. The ‘AI for Societal Good Unit’ will focus on international collaborations in areas like weather modelling and cancer diagnosis. Lastly, the ‘AI Innovation and Policy Coordination Unit’ will monitor AI trends, stimulate investment, and support testing and regulatory sandboxes.
Led by the Head of the AI Office and advised by a Lead Scientific Adviser and an international affairs expert, the office will employ over 140 staff members. These include technology specialists, lawyers, and policy experts. The AI Office will collaborate with member states and the scientific community through dedicated forums and the European Artificial Intelligence Board. It will also support research and innovation activities, ensuring that AI models developed in Europe are integrated into various applications, thereby stimulating investment.
The AI Office will officially begin its operations on 16 June, with the first meeting of the AI Board scheduled for the end of June. It will issue guidelines on AI system definitions and prohibitions within six months of the AI Act’s enforcement, expected by the end of July 2024. This initiative follows the EU AI Act, provisionally agreed upon in December 2023, and aims to maintain safety and fundamental rights while fostering innovation and investment in AI across Europe.
According to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, leading global internet companies are working closely with the EU regulators to ensure their AI products comply with the bloc’s stringent data protection laws. This body, which oversees compliance for major firms like Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, and OpenAI, has yet to exercise its full regulatory power over AI but may enforce significant changes to business models to uphold data privacy.
AI introduces several potential privacy issues, such as whether companies can use public data to train AI models and the legal basis for using personal data. AI operators must also guarantee individuals’ rights, including the right to have their data erased and address the risk of AI models generating incorrect personal information. Significant engagement has been noted from tech giants seeking guidance on their AI innovations, particularly large language models.
Following consultations with the Irish regulator, Google has already agreed to delay and modify its Gemini AI chatbot. While Ireland leads regulation due to many tech firms’ EU headquarters being located there, other EU regulators can influence decisions through the European Data Protection Board. AI operators must comply with the new EU AI Act and the General Data Protection Regulation, which imposes fines of up to 4% of a company’s global turnover for non-compliance.
Why does it matter?
Ireland’s broad regulatory authority means that companies failing to perform due diligence on new products could be forced to alter their designs. As the EU’s AI regulatory landscape evolves, these tech firms must navigate both the AI Act and existing data protection laws to avoid substantial penalties.
Fintech company Klarna has revealed that substantial cost savings have been achieved through the use of generative AI (GenAI) technology. Klarna, an early adopter of GenAI, employs AI for various purposes, including running marketing campaigns and generating images. The company reports saving approximately $10 million annually through AI implementation.
In the first quarter, Klarna reduced its sales and marketing budget by 11%, with AI accounting for 37% of these cost savings. Utilising GenAI tools such as Midjourney, DALL-E, and Firefly for image generation, Klarna has notably reduced image production costs by $6 million. By leveraging AI, Klarna updates images on its app and website weekly, aligning with key retail events like Valentine’s Day and summer sales.
According to Klarna’s Chief Marketing Officer David Sandström, the company has eliminated the need for costly bespoke imagery traditionally associated with seasonal events. With GenAI, Klarna has streamlined its image development cycle, generating over 1,000 images in the first three months of 2024 and reducing the cycle time from six weeks to seven days.
Additionally, Klarna has realised further savings of $4 million by reducing spending on external marketing suppliers for translation, production, and social agencies. Furthermore, Klarna’s partnership with OpenAI has resulted in an AI assistant for customer service, performing tasks equivalent to 700 full-time agents, showcasing the company’s commitment to leveraging AI technology across various aspects of its operations.
OpenAI has established a Safety and Security Committee to oversee the training of its next AI model, the company announced on Tuesday. CEO Sam Altman will lead the committee alongside directors Bret Taylor, Adam D’Angelo, and Nicole Seligman. The committee makes safety and security recommendations to OpenAI’s board.
The committee’s initial task is to review and enhance OpenAI’s existing safety practices over the next 90 days, after which it will present its findings to the board. Following the board’s review, OpenAI plans to share the adopted recommendations publicly. This move follows the disbanding of OpenAI’s Superalignment team earlier this month, which led to the departure of key figures like former Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike.
Other members of the new committee include technical and policy experts Aleksander Madry, Lilian Weng, and head of alignment sciences John Schulman. Newly appointed Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki and head of security Matt Knight will also be part of the committee, contributing to the safety and security oversight of OpenAI’s projects and operations.
Two months after the European Parliament passed the landmark AI Act, the EU Commission office responsible for its implementation remains understaffed and leaderless. Although such a pace is common for public institutions, stakeholders worry it may delay the enactment of the hundreds of pages of the AI Act, especially with some parts coming into effect by the end of the year.
The EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Communication Networks, Content, and Technology (DG Connect), which houses the AI Office, is undergoing a reorganisation. Despite reassurances from officials that preparations are on track, concerns persist about the office’s limited budget, slow hiring process, and the overwhelming workload on the current staff. Three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have expressed dissatisfaction with the transparency and progress of the recruitment and leadership processes.
The European Commission has identified 64 deliverables for the AI Office, prohibiting certain AI uses set to take effect by the year’s end. Codes of practice for general-purpose models, such as ChatGPT, will be developed within nine months of the legislation’s enactment. Despite recent recruitment efforts, including two positions opened in March and additional roles for lawyers and AI ethicists soon to be advertised, the hiring process is expected to take several more months.
Why does it matter?
A significant question remains regarding the leadership of the AI Office. The Commission has yet to announce candidates or details of the selection process. Speculation has arisen around MEP Dragoș Tudorache, who has been active in AI policy and is not seeking re-election. However, he has not confirmed any plans post-tenure. The Commission aims to finalise the office’s staffing and leadership to ensure the smooth implementation of the AI Act.
China’s domestic AI chipmakers are rapidly closing the gap on international leaders, according to Xu Bing, co-founder of SenseTime Group Inc. Despite the significant lag in computational power compared to the US, China possesses the talent and data necessary to advance in the AI field, Xu stated during an interview at the UBS Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong. SenseTime, a leading AI company in China, faces challenges due to US sanctions that restrict access to advanced AI technology, such as Nvidia’s accelerators.
The US trade controls have spurred the development of domestic alternatives from companies like Huawei Technologies and Shanghai Biren Technology, both also affected by US restrictions. Xu emphasised that although Asia faces a considerable shortfall in computational resources, the region is abundant in talent and data. He noted that China’s AI chip industry is catching up quickly, with SenseTime collaborating with local semiconductor firms to enhance their computing capabilities.
While the exact gap between Chinese and US AI technology is uncertain, estimated between one to three years, Xu is optimistic that this disadvantage in computing power will be temporary. He believes that, over time, the disparity in computing resources will diminish, viewing computing power as a commodity China will eventually acquire in sufficient quantity. Notable Chinese companies making strides in AI chips include Moore Threads Intelligent Beijing Co., Huawei, and other key players like Baidu Inc. and Naura Technology Group Ltd, which have received government attention and support.
