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Google is further curbing AI queries to help prevent misinformation and mistakes surrounding the 2024 US presidential election.
The company is restricting election-related Gemini requests in image generation, Gems, Search AI Overviews, and YouTube’s AI-generated chat summaries.
Trust and Safety VP Laurie Richardson explained that voters depend on Google for “reliable and up-to-date” presidential election information, but that generative AI can “make mistakes” while learning or handling breaking news.
Outside of AI, YouTube will show info panels for federal election candidates above relevant search results in the “coming weeks.” You’ll also get a link to Google Search and sometimes one for the candidate’s verified channel. In the last stages of the race, the YouTube home page will display reminders on how and where to vote.
Previously mentioned efforts are also in place, including voter registration details in search and a recently-deployed badge in Google Play to identify Android apps from government bodies. Google is also tracking advanced persistent threats (APTs) that might use cyberattacks or phishing to compromise election campaigns, and is watching for manipulated or clearly false content.
Election misinformation has become increasingly problematic. During the 2016 presidential election, there were attempts to both push incorrect voting info as well as stoke political tensions. The issue was magnified in 2020, when Trump and supporting factions spread unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
The rise of generative AI has amplified those fears once more. While the technology is helpful in many ways, it also makes it easier to produce misinformation. You can insert politicians into compromising situations that never happened, for example. In theory, Google’s new protections will prevent Gemini from playing a role in those falsehoods.
