%Alphabet ($GOOGL), the parent company of Google, is requiring that all political advertisements on its platform disclose any use of %ArtificialIntelligence (A.I.) in their creation.
The new rules are in response to evidence that many online ads are already being manipulated with A.I., and that a growing number of “deep fakes” are being created with the technology.
Alphabet said it also wants to get ahead of the trend toward A.I. manipulated advertisements ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election as concerns rise about the spread of political disinformation.
Google’s existing advertising policies already ban the manipulation of digital media to mislead people about politics, social issues, or matters of public interest.
However, the new rules require election-related ads to “prominently disclose” if they contain synthetic content that depicts real or realistic-looking people or events.
False claims that could undermine trust in the electoral process are also banned at Google, and all political ads must disclose who paid for them.
In March, a fake picture of former U.S. President Donald Trump being arrested by police was widely shared on social media. The image was created completely by A.I. tools in what is known as a “deep fake.”
More recently, false A.I. generated videos showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky surrendering to Russia have been circulated online.
There is growing concern around the world about the ability of A.I. to create false content that appears so real people will no longer be able to tell what is real.
Alphabet said it continues to invest in technologies that can detect and remove manipulated and false content from its online platforms.
Alphabet’s stock has increased 23% over the last 12 months to trade at $134.46 U.S. per share.