China may misuse AI to target elections in India, U.S. to boost geopolitical interests: Microsoft

China is likely to deploy AI via social media to sway public opinion during elections in countries like India, South Korea and the U.S., Microsoft has warned.

China is likely to deploy Artificial Intelligence-generated content via social media to sway public opinion to boost its geopolitical interests during elections in countries like India, South Korea and the U.S., tech giant Microsoft has warned.

Voting for 543 Lok Sabha seats in India will take place between April 19 and June 4, spread across seven phases.

South Koreans will go to the polls in a general election on April 10 while the U.S. will hold the Presidential election on November 5.

"With major elections taking place around the world this year, particularly in India, South Korea and the United States, we assess that China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content to benefit its interests," Clint Watts, General Manager, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, said in a blog post.

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Despite the chances of such content in affecting election results remaining low, China's increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will likely continue – and may prove more effective down the line, he said.

China will do it along with North Korea, he wrote.