The Japan Times - Brazil seeks to curb AI deepfakes as key elections loom

EUR -
AED 4.02547
AFN 78.958383
ALL 99.102869
AMD 431.181955
ANG 1.961978
AOA 1003.890567
ARS 1184.765046
AUD 1.813586
AWG 1.97271
AZN 1.867466
BAM 1.955265
BBD 2.22659
BDT 133.983319
BGN 1.957778
BHD 0.412787
BIF 3277.602688
BMD 1.09595
BND 1.474296
BOB 7.619914
BRL 6.405394
BSD 1.102698
BTN 94.079244
BWP 15.358795
BYN 3.608812
BYR 21480.619234
BZD 2.215094
CAD 1.559263
CDF 3148.664634
CHF 0.944431
CLF 0.02729
CLP 1047.223301
CNY 7.980215
CNH 7.994999
COP 4582.945323
CRC 557.847278
CUC 1.09595
CUP 29.042674
CVE 110.234821
CZK 25.256829
DJF 196.376238
DKK 7.461451
DOP 69.640934
DZD 146.03502
EGP 55.406831
ERN 16.439249
ETB 145.347308
FJD 2.537019
FKP 0.847795
GBP 0.850992
GEL 3.01429
GGP 0.847795
GHS 16.970527
GIP 0.847795
GMD 78.997119
GNF 9480.074229
GTQ 8.45127
GYD 228.536272
HKD 8.520633
HNL 28.038338
HRK 7.531044
HTG 143.530764
HUF 404.54591
IDR 18346.949665
ILS 4.100568
IMP 0.847795
INR 93.650132
IQD 1430.891791
IRR 46360.405806
ISK 144.204462
JEP 0.847795
JMD 172.42419
JOD 0.777072
JPY 161.061946
KES 141.527433
KGS 95.002298
KHR 4365.330633
KMF 489.529208
KPW 986.361205
KRW 1599.015607
KWD 0.337157
KYD 0.910826
KZT 556.162432
LAK 23685.841231
LBP 98372.711411
LKR 324.07413
LRD 218.985421
LSL 20.902803
LTL 3.236056
LVL 0.66293
LYD 5.289988
MAD 10.429326
MDL 19.551233
MGA 5069.578931
MKD 61.05679
MMK 2300.919896
MNT 3846.361639
MOP 8.775473
MRU 43.593447
MUR 49.000806
MVR 16.923331
MWK 1897.317993
MXN 22.386696
MYR 4.861215
MZN 70.003894
NAD 20.902803
NGN 1681.066767
NIO 40.290501
NOK 11.790932
NPR 149.910449
NZD 1.95777
OMR 0.421946
PAB 1.09595
PEN 4.037053
PGK 4.46999
PHP 62.764717
PKR 306.904853
PLN 4.245513
PYG 8757.469729
QAR 3.989667
RON 4.952931
RSD 116.586887
RUB 93.840941
RWF 1555.449869
SAR 4.110221
SBD 9.312612
SCR 15.97682
SDG 658.021292
SEK 10.947921
SGD 1.470849
SHP 0.861245
SLE 24.933268
SLL 22981.523891
SOS 624.324825
SRD 40.248477
STD 22683.951476
SVC 9.589967
SYP 14249.994157
SZL 20.902803
THB 37.792726
TJS 11.899889
TMT 3.833642
TND 3.357047
TOP 2.638671
TRY 41.641737
TTD 7.422798
TWD 36.332658
TZS 2923.758392
UAH 45.158896
UGX 4009.400205
USD 1.09595
UYU 46.167964
UZS 14171.813622
VES 77.086835
VND 28252.54745
VUV 134.896075
WST 3.078778
XAF 652.705611
XAG 0.037037
XAU 0.000361
XCD 2.966325
XDR 0.817067
XOF 652.705611
XPF 119.331742
YER 269.409315
ZAR 20.929909
ZMK 9864.868719
ZMW 30.636217
ZWL 352.89544
  • RBGPF

    69.0200

    69.02

    +100%

  • BTI

    -2.0600

    39.86

    -5.17%

  • RELX

    -3.2800

    48.16

    -6.81%

  • GSK

    -2.4800

    36.53

    -6.79%

  • CMSC

    0.0300

    22.29

    +0.13%

  • BP

    -2.9600

    28.38

    -10.43%

  • NGG

    -3.4600

    65.93

    -5.25%

  • VOD

    -0.8700

    8.5

    -10.24%

  • RYCEF

    -1.5500

    8.25

    -18.79%

  • JRI

    -0.8600

    11.96

    -7.19%

  • SCS

    -0.0600

    10.68

    -0.56%

  • BCC

    0.8100

    95.44

    +0.85%

  • RIO

    -3.7600

    54.67

    -6.88%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    22.71

    +0.22%

  • CMSD

    0.1600

    22.83

    +0.7%

  • AZN

    -5.4600

    68.46

    -7.98%

Brazil seeks to curb AI deepfakes as key elections loom
Brazil seeks to curb AI deepfakes as key elections loom / Photo: Josep LAGO - AFP

Brazil seeks to curb AI deepfakes as key elections loom

AI-generated videos and photos used for political disinformation are the scourge of a busy global election year, and Brazil is scrambling to regulate the technology ahead of municipal polls.

Text size:

In a country of 203 million, which counts more phones than people, Brazilian authorities last week banned the use of deepfake technology and set out guidelines for uses of AI for electoral purposes.

"Video montages can be used to manipulate public opinion, to defame individuals, or to interfere in the democratic process," Ana Carolina da Hora, a computer specialist at the PUC Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro, told AFP.

The rapid development of AI, turbocharged by the 2022 launch of ChatGPT, has shaken up the online landscape while sparking awe and fear over the future of the technology.

In a video circulating on social media in Brazil, the country's biggest pop star Anitta and football icon Neymar promote an online gambling scheme, or rather, ultra-realistic deepfakes of the celebrities do.

But in a country hard hit by political disinformation, authorities are particularly alarmed by cases like that of a mayor whose voice was cloned to create an audio file shared on social media in which he insults teachers in his municipality.

Similar cases are being investigated in two other states.

- 'Most modern standards' -

The Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has decided to act. Last week, the use of deepfake technology was formally banned in the October municipal electoral campaign.

Any other type of use of artificial intelligence for electoral purposes must be accompanied by a notice clearly identifiable to the public.

Candidates caught using deepfake technology in the campaign could be blocked from running or have their mandates rescinded if elected.

TSE president Alexandre de Moraes said these were some of "the most modern standards in the world in relation to combating disinformation, fake news and the illicit use of artificial intelligence."

He warned that deepfake technology could "change the result of the elections."

In Brazil, former president Jair Bolsonaro was banned from holding office until 2030 for abuse of power and misuse of the media after he claimed, without evidence, that the Brazilian electoral system was not secure.

"The fact is that humanity is becoming a victim of algorithms... and being manipulated by artificial intelligence, in a way that has never been seen in history," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said last week in an interview with the RedeTV channel.

Lula beat Bolsonaro by a razor-thin margin in 2022 elections that bitterly divided the nation, and the October municipal elections will be a crucial litmus test of his popularity.

- 'No single solution' -

Deepfake technology is also alarming experts in the United States, where opponents of President Joe Biden recently released an AI-generated call using what sounded like his voice, urging people not to cast ballots in a primary.

The nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) on Wednesday warned that several generative AI tools continue to allow the creation of deceptive images related to political candidates and voting.

Twenty digital giants, including Meta, Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, TikTok and X, last month joined together in a pledge to fight AI content designed to mislead voters.

They promised to use technologies to counter potentially harmful AI content, such as watermarks invisible to the human eye but detectable by machine.

In Brazil, Congress has waded into the debate, and Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco introduced a bill on the regulation of the use of artificial intelligence in all aspects of life which he hopes will be approved in April.

There is "no single solution to regulate artificial intelligence," said Bruno Bioni, director of Data Privacy Brazil, a data protection and digital rights organization, who stressed that AI affects sectors ranging from telecommunications to health.

He also highlighted the risk of discrimination linked to AI facial recognition in a country where more than half of the population is black or mixed race.

K.Yoshida--JT