Monitoring Desk,23-Jan; Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar today, January 23, said that a disturbing trend of deep fake narratives has become a common feature in elections worldwide.
He said the disruptive elements attempt to alter public perception and mislead the user by repetitively presenting the deep fakes as fact.
Kumar was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day international conference on the theme Use of Technology and Elections Integrity in New Delhi. He talked about pressing challenges before the Election Management Bodies and stressed on the impact of new media, especially social media on the intersection of technology with EMBs’ functioning.
He added that social media intermediaries through their algorithm power and AI, have the capability to detect deep fakes proactively, especially in jurisdictions like India, where electoral cycles are definite and well announced.
Kumar also raised concerns over a level playing field not inbuilt in platforms search results to at least show officially verified versions with the same prominence as fake content. He emphasised that engagement of technology has become vital in ensuring inclusivity and transparency in elections and thus in further building up trust towards the democratic electoral exercise.
During his address, Election Commissioner Arun Goel said the use of technology in election administration has become indispensable from automating basic processes to managing sophisticated electoral databases.
