Two recent Meta AI-related issues regarding content about Donald Trump were the result of technical mistakes and not bias, said the vice president of global policy for the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
“It's a known issue that AI chatbots, including Meta AI, are not always reliable when it comes to breaking news or returning information in real time,” said Meta’s Joel Kaplan.
“We are constantly working to make our products better and will continue to quickly address any issues as they arise,” he added.
Mr Kaplan was referring to a photograph of the former US president and 2024 Republican presidential nominee that Meta’s systems incorrectly flagged as digitally altered and manipulated, and several instances where Meta’s AI chatbot appeared to not respond to any inquiries about the assassination attempt on Mr Trump's life.
Meta’s statement gave a rare insight into the company’s approach to handling potential misinformation on the platform, showing the difficulty of implementing those plans given the pace of breaking news, the imperfect nature of AI technology, and the uncertainty about how consumers will use it.
Mr Kaplan said AI chatbots largely rely on large amounts of data, making them less than ideal for handling a fluid breaking news event, also making it almost impossible to ensure the accuracy of all the data upon which the chatbots are trained.
“Rather than have Meta AI give incorrect information about the attempted assassination, we programmed it to simply not answer questions about it after it happened – and instead give a generic response about how it couldn’t provide any information,” he added, explaining that Meta had since updated the chatbot to some extent, while acknowledging that that it probably should have been done sooner.
Mr Kaplan also explained what many consider to be an continuing flaw with chatbots when used to consume news about events similar to the Trump assassination attempt.
“There is initially an enormous amount of confusion, conflicting information or outright conspiracy theories in the public domain,” he said.
The lengthy post on Meta’s news blog also addressed a photo of Mr Trump taken shortly after the assassination attempt on July 13, which the company’s systems incorrectly applied a fact check label to.
Meta said the photo of Mr Trump was incorrectly flagged as altered because of its resemblance to another photo which its systems had correctly identified as being doctored.
“When a fact check label is applied, our technology detects content that is the same or almost exactly the same as those rated by fact checkers, and adds a label to that content as well,” the company said.
“Given the similarities between the doctored photo and the original image – which are only subtly (although importantly) different – our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo, too.”
In response, Mr Trump did not mince his words, appearing to disregard much of Meta's statement.
“Facebook has just admitted that it wrongly censored the Trump 'attempted assassination photo',” he posted to his Truth Social platform. “They made it virtually impossible to find pictures or anything about this heinous act.”
Meta is not alone in facing occasional problems of implementing AI tools while also ensuring accuracy amid a sea of misinformation and disinformation.
Earlier this year, Alphabet-owned Google was forced to suspend the image generation tool included in its AI platform Gemini, following criticism over its creation of historically inaccurate images.
In 2022, shortly after deploying its BlenderBot 3 chatbot, Meta addressed various inaccurate statements.
Media reports at the time said the bot claimed that Mr Trump “always will be” US president, among other inaccurate comments.
While many Big Tech companies are taking steps to increase the disclosure for content created with AI, there is little consensus or government regulation on how it should be done.
Microsoft, in a recent report, stressed the need for the entire industry and regulators to protect people from abusive and misleading AI content.
“One of the most important things the US can do is pass a comprehensive deepfake fraud statute,” an introduction to the report read.
“We don't have all the solutions or perfect ones, but we want to contribute to and accelerate action.”
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Read more about the coronavirus
57%20Seconds
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The five pillars of Islam
RACE CARD
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB); Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA); Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA); Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA); Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T); 1,400m
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Liverpool v Manchester United - 3.30pm
Burnley v West Ham United - 6pm
Crystal Palace v Chelsea - 6pm
Manchester City v Stoke City - 6pm
Swansea City v Huddersfield Town - 6pm
Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth - 6pm
Watford v Arsenal - 8.30pm
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Everton - 4.30pm
Southampton v Newcastle United - 7pm
Monday
Leicester City v West Bromwich Albion - 11pm
New schools in Dubai
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Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The five pillars of Islam
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Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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