2024: AI ELECTION DISINFORMATION

AI fever turns Anguilla’s “.ai” domain into a digital gold mine

Anguilla, a small British island territory in the Caribbean, is expected to generate $30 million in revenue this year from its “.ai” domain name. The increasing interest in AI has made the country’s top-level domain particularly appealing to tech companies. This revenue is a significant boost for Anguilla’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism and has been affected by the pandemic. Registrars like GoDaddy pay Anguilla a fixed price per registration, and demand has caused prices to rise. 

In 2021, Anguilla earned $7.4 million from .ai domains, but the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT sparked a wave of AI hype, fear, and investment, doubling .ai registrations. Anguilla has assigned web addresses with the “.ai” domain since 1995. While some experts predict a decline in the AI market, the impact on Anguilla’s economy has already been significant, with the revenue from domain registrations estimated to be a notable percentage of the territory’s GDP. This demonstrates how even a small island can benefit from the global tech boom.

Newspaper giant pauses AI experiment after readers mock bizarre sports reporting

Gannett, the parent company of USA Today and other newspapers, has stopped an AI experiment due to criticism of poorly phrased and lacking details in AI-generated sports articles. Gannett-owned papers briefly published AI-generated sports stories based on box score data, which faced condemnation on social media. The articles were criticized for awkward phrasing, such as describing a high school football game as “high school football action,” and for failing to generate names for sports mascots. 

Gannett confirmed that it has paused the AI experiment while evaluating vendors and refining processes. The AI-generated articles were attributed to LedeAI, a tech company that aims to provide reliable local reporting. LedeAI regrets the errors and is working to fix them. The criticisms on social media sparked a useful conversation about the technology, according to LedeAI CEO Jay Allred. AI programs like ChatGPT are being integrated into various industries, including media. Some speculate that AI could eventually replace journalists. Allred believes content automation is part of the future of local newsrooms.

AI predicts chemicals’ smells from their structures

Researchers have developed an AI system that can describe the smell of compounds based on their molecular structures. The AI tool assigns descriptive words, such as fruity or grassy, to odors based on chemical structures, establishing correlations between structure and aroma. A principal odor map (POM) was created from these correlations, which the AI used to predict the scent of new molecules.

To test the accuracy of the AI’s predictions, researchers trained human volunteers to associate specific smells with the same descriptive words used by the AI. The AI’s predictions were often very close to the average response given by the humans.

Despite the advancement provided by the AI tool, scientists say it does not reveal much about the biology behind the human sense of smell. The AI focuses on the chemical and brain aspects of smell, whereas the interactions between molecules and the 350 odor receptors in the human nose are unknown.

Further research is needed to understand how odorants combine and compete with one another to create different smells. This poses a challenge due to the vast number of possible combinations of odorant molecules.

Israel unveils ‘most advanced’ surveillance plane with AI-powered sensors: ‘Unprecedented’

The Israeli Defense Ministry has revealed a new surveillance aircraft called “Oron” that combines AI systems to deliver advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The aircraft features groundbreaking sensing systems, including an onboard radar system and various sensors that collect valuable data to be streamed to intelligence units. Utilizing AI technology, the aircraft’s data processing system automates the analysis of data in real time, improving the effectiveness of IDF operational activities. 

Developed over nine years by the Directorate of Defense Research & Development alongside Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the aircraft possesses advanced radars, cutting-edge sensors, and state-of-the-art artificial intelligence capabilities. Oron can track targets over long distances and in various weather conditions. The Israeli Ministry of Defense considers it the world’s most advanced aircraft of its kind and plans to integrate it with the 122nd Squadron upon completion of test flights. Introducing AI technology to military operations brings significant advantages, although it is crucial to ensure that common sense is applied during the decision-making process to avoid any critical mistakes.

How artificial intelligence will affect the elections of 2024

As countries gear up for a series of elections in 2024, there is growing concern that advances in generative AI could supercharge disinformation campaigns. While disinformation has always been a problem, AI tools such as ChatGPT have the potential to amplify its quantity, quality, and personalization. The fear is that the volume of misinformation could persuade people to vote differently, hyper-realistic deepfakes could sway voters before they can be debunked, and voters may be inundated with highly personalized propaganda. Moreover, networks of propaganda bots could become harder to detect, leading to a decline in trust among citizens. 

However, there are reasons to believe that AI will not completely dismantle democracy. Voters are generally hard to persuade, and traditional campaign methods have only had minute effects on changing voter behavior. Additionally, the production of disinformation already existed before AI, and AI-augmented tactics would likely be adopted by multiple parties, rendering social networks even more chaotic. Social media platforms and AI companies claim to be focused on mitigating the risks, but voluntary regulation has its limits. 

Calls for extreme regulation, similar to China’s system, could erode America’s advantage in AI innovation. Ultimately, while AI can disrupt democracies, panic is unwarranted as disinformation has always been present, with politicians themselves often being the perpetrators.