China Will Use AI To Disrupt Elections in the US, South Korea and India, Microsoft Warns

China will attempt to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India this year with artificial intelligence-generated content after making a dry run with the presidential poll in Taiwan, Microsoft has warned. From a report: The US tech firm said it expected Chinese state-backed cyber groups to target high-profile elections in 2024, with North Korea also involved, according to a report by the company's threat intelligence team published on Friday. 'As populations in India, South Korea and the United States head to the polls, we are likely to see Chinese cyber and influence actors, and to some extent North Korean cyber actors, work toward targeting these elections,' the report reads.

Microsoft said that 'at a minimum' China will create and distribute through social media AI-generated content that 'benefits their positions in these high-profile elections.' The company added that the impact of AI-made content was minor but warned that could change. 'While the impact of such content in swaying audiences remains low, China's increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos and audio will continue -- and may prove effective down the line,' said Microsoft. Microsoft said in the report that China had already attempted an AI-generated disinformation campaign in the Taiwan presidential election in January. The company said this was the first time it had seen a state-backed entity using AI-made content in a bid to influence a foreign election.

UPDATE: Last fall, America's State Department 'accused the Chinese government of spending billions of dollars annually on a global campaign of disinformation,' reports the Wall Street Journal:

In an interview, Tom Burt, Microsoft's head of customer security and trust, said China's disinformation operations have become much more active in the past six months, mirroring rising activity of cyberattacks linked to Beijing. 'We're seeing them experiment,' Burt said. 'I'm worried about where it might go next.'

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