US Government Wants to ‘Cryptographically Verify’ Videos of Joe Biden

The White House is grappling with the challenge of distinguishing authentic statements and information from President Joe Biden amidst the proliferation of generative AI technology, which can easily create convincing fake content. This issue has escalated with the recent surge in consumer-friendly AI tools, leading to concerns about deepfakes, including an AI-generated robocall impersonating Biden.

While the Federal Communications Commission has declared such calls illegal, the development of more sophisticated generative AI tools persists. Ben Buchanan, Biden’s Special Advisor for Artificial Intelligence, disclosed that the White House is actively working on a method to verify all official communications, aiming to cryptographically verify statements and videos to ensure authenticity. While efforts to establish standards for watermarking content through the AI Safety Institute exist, verifying White House communications is a separate, ongoing process. The ultimate goal is to enable the public to distinguish authentic content directly from the White House and mitigate the potential harm posed by fake generative AI content.