5th June 2023 – (Brussels) The European Commission deputy head, Vera Jourova, has called for companies deploying generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Bard to label any disinformation generated as part of their efforts to combat fake news. Jourova expressed concerns about the potential abuse of the technology and the possibility of bad actors and even governments using it to produce far more disinformation than before. Companies that have signed up to the EU Code of Practice to tackle disinformation, such as Google, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms, should report on safeguards put in place to tackle this in July, Jourova said. She also warned Twitter, which recently quit the Code, to expect more regulatory scrutiny.
Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT, unveiled late last year, has become the fastest-growing consumer application in history. This has set off a race among tech companies to bring generative AI products to market. However, concerns are mounting over the potential abuse of the technology and its possible use by bad actors and even governments to produce disinformation on a massive scale. Jourova called on signatories who integrate generative AI into their services, such as Bingchat for Microsoft and Bard for Google, to build in necessary safeguards to prevent malicious actors from generating disinformation.