Exclusive: AI chatbots provide inaccurate election information, Former OSTP director warns
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OSTP Dir. Alondra Nelson speaks at Axios' What's Next Summit on March 19. Photo: Ronald Flores for Axios
AI chatbots are spitting out false election information, former OSTP Dir. Alondra Nelson told Axios' Ina Fried at the annual What's Next Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Nelson, who helped launch The AI Democracy Projects, said the group's recent survey of election information on AI chatbots found that more than half of them churned out inaccurate information ahead of what's expected to be a closely contested presidential race.
- "Elections officials were mortified" by the results, she said.
- Asked about how powerful such tools, including social media, are in spreading false information, she said, "It's already happening," citing the fake Biden robocall.
The big picture: Nelson, who led work on artificial intelligence while serving as the first woman of color heading the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, emphasized the need for responsible development and use of the technology.
- "We have the benefit of being pretty early in a moment of a new technology," she said, explaining that provides the opportunity to put in place the infrastructure, standards and regulations for "potential good outcomes."
What she's saying: Nelson said there is a lot of "well meaning discourse" around the use of AI but "we really just cannot afford to mess this up."
- "The foundations are creaky," she said. If AI can't get "basic information" correct, that can be "a real problem for democracy."
Zoom out: Asked about the whether she thinks TikTok should be banned, Nelson said: "I think it matters who owns TikTok."
- She said she's pro regulating social media platforms and thinks there's a need for federal privacy regulations.
Context: Nelson led the OSTP Science and Society team, which had been newly created under President Biden, and led all of OSTP for eight months after Eric Lander resigned.
- She left the White House in February 2023 after two years to return to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.
- Nelson led work on artificial intelligence, in addition to rolling out more rigorous scientific research for developing federal policies, making publicly funded research available to the public and boosting STEM programs.
- Her team was behind the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.
Go deeper: Exclusive: OSTP official Alondra Nelson to step down
