Google Implements AI Safeguards Ahead of 2024 US Presidential Election

Google rolls out safeguards for more of its AI products ahead of the US presidential election

Google is gearing up for the upcoming U.S. presidential election by rolling out safeguards for more of its generative AI products. Although the company already previously announced that it would restrict Gemini queries related to the election, it's now applying additional restrictions to its other generative AI products. These safeguards will be applied to Search AI Overviews, YouTube AI-generated summaries for Live Chat, Gems, and image generation in Gemini. As part of the restrictions, these AI products will not respond to election-related topics. Given that generative AI is a relatively newer technology, Google acknowledges that it's prone to making mistakes, which is why it's restricting the features to prevent misinformation around the election. "Particularly for federal and state-wide elections, our users depend on us to provide reliable and up-to-date information on topics like current candidates, voting processes, and election results -- and this new technology can make mistakes as it learns or as news breaks," Google's vice president of trust and safety, Laurie Richardson, wrote in a blog post. Misinformation was a significant issue during the 2020 presidential election, but with the rise of generative AI, misinformation during the 2024 election is poised to be even more of a problem. With the changes announced on Friday, Google is trying to get ahead of the problem. The company also announced that as with past elections, Google Search is getting a feature that will help people across the country find information about registering to vote. In addition, users will start to see new features on YouTube that will help them find credible information about election candidates and their political parties. As the election nears, the video platform will start to display reminders on where and how to vote. To help people find reliable election information, Google Play has launched a new badge that will be displayed on apps from official government agencies.

Google is rolling out more election-related safeguards in YouTube, search and AI

As the US speeds toward one of the most consequential elections in its 248-year history, Google is rolling out safeguards to ensure users get reliable information. In addition to the measures it announced late last year, the company said on Friday that it's adding election-related guardrails to YouTube, Search, Google Play and AI products. YouTube will add information panels above the search results for at least some federal election candidates. The modules, likely similar to those you see when searching the web for prominent figures, will include the candidates' basic details like their political party and a link to Google Search for more info. The company says the panels may also include a link to the person's official website (or other channel). As Election Day (November 5) approaches, YouTube's homepage will also show reminders on where and how to vote. Google Search will include aggregated voter registration resources from state election offices for all users. Google is sourcing that data through a partnership with Democracy Works, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works with various companies and organizations "to help voters whenever and wherever they need it." Meanwhile, the Google Play Store will add a new badge that indicates an app is from an official government agency. The company outlines its requirements for apps that "communicate government information" in a developer help document. Approved applications that have submitted the required forms are eligible for the "official endorsement signified by a clear visual treatment on the Play Store." As for generative AI, which can be prone to hallucinations that would make Jerry Garcia blush, Google is expanding its election-related restrictions, which were announced late last year. They'll include disclosures for ads created or generated using AI, content labels for generated content and embedded SynthID digital watermarking for AI-made text, audio, images and video. Initially described as being for Gemini (apps and on the web), the election guardrails will apply to Search AI Overviews, YouTube AI-generated summaries for Live Chat, Gems (custom chatbots with user-created instructions) and Gemini image generation.

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The United States presidential election is just two months away, and we've already seen AI affect messaging and what kinds of information people are seeing. In response, Google has said the company is installing safeguards and restrictions on all of its generative AI products, including Gems, image generation in Gemini, Search AI Overview, and YouTube summaries created by AI for Live Chat. Late in 2023, Google announced an initial project to safeguard Gemini by restricting any queries related to the upcoming election. That blog post announced several other election-related features to help people get authoritative information, including content labels, digital watermarking and polling places on Maps. According to Google's latest missive, the company is restricting its AI products by making them unable to respond to election-related queries while acknowledging that AI can make mistakes. "Particularly for federal and state-wide elections, our users depend on us to provide reliable and up-to-date information on topics like current candidates, voting processes and election results -- and this new technology can make mistakes as it learns or as news breaks," wrote Laurie Richardson, Google's VP of Trust & Safety. Disinformation and hacking played a significant part during the 2020 presidential election. And it's only gotten worse as AI tools have become popular among tech companies in the intervening years. "Disinformation is a threat to any election but with the rise of artificial intelligence tools, especially those capable of recreating or mimicking human content with near perfect accuracy, it's more important than ever protections are place in place," said Tom's Guide AI editor, Ryan Morrison. "These guardrails are a logical move for Google and ones I suspect every AI labs is replicating to some degree. I also suspect we will see a flurry of next generation AI products after the election, when the risk is less intense." In addition to new restrictions, Google Search is also getting a feature to help people find information on registering to vote and aggregated resources from state election offices. YouTube, meanwhile, is gaining some features to help watchers find "credible information" about candidates and their parties. The video platform will also start displaying reminders on where and how to vote. The company is adding a badge to official apps from government agencies, which will hopefully stick around after the election. Most of these features should stay whether or not an election is going on to prevent misinformation on the platforms.