OpenAI, Microsoft, Google Among Tech Firms To Watermark AI Content For Better Identification And Safety

JE Technology Desk: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been the keyword of 2023 in the technology landscape. With all the good that AI brings, it also has a set of negatives that continues to grab the attention of decision-makers. And in an effort to make the technology safer, big tech companies, including OpenAI, Google, Meta and more, have voluntarily committed to the White House that they will execute guardrails. One such measure is watermarking AI-generated content, Joe Biden, President of the United States, announced.

At an event at the White House, Biden highlighted issues such as the use of AI in disruptive activities and the need for vigilance around these technologies. Besides the three companies stated above, Amazon, Inflection, Microsoft, and Anthropic agreed to comprehensively test the systems before making them public, convey information on risk reduction and pay attention to cybersecurity.

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"These commitments are a promising step but we have a lot more work to do together," Biden said. The move can be noted as an effort to regulate the technology in the US. The seven companies agreed to build a mechanism to "watermark" all content (text, images, videos and audio and more) generated by AI to ease identification. This technically embedded label will also inform users of deep-fake content. However, the mechanism of how the step will materialise is unknown at the moment.

The tech firms also pledged to focus on privacy protection and ensure AI products are free from bias. Other commitments to develop AI systems to tackle climate change and help the medical sector were also made.

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"We welcome the president's leadership in bringing the tech industry together to hammer out concrete steps that will help make AI safer, more secure, and more beneficial for the public," Microsoft said in a blog post on Friday. Besides the US, the European Union is also among the strict regulators of the technology. Biden also added that an "executive order and bipartisan legislation" concerning the technology is also in the works.