OpenAI, Google, others pledge to watermark AI content for safety

The watermark will make it easier for users to spot deep-fake images or audios. (AFP/File)
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Updated 21 July 2023
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OpenAI, Google, others pledge to watermark AI content for safety

  • System to “watermark” all forms of content, from text, images, audios, to videos generated by AI
  • White House said voluntary commitments to make technology safer

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: Top AI companies including OpenAI, Alphabet and Meta Platforms have made voluntary commitments to the White House to implement measures such as watermarking AI-generated content to help make the technology safer, the Biden administration said on Friday.
The companies — which also include Anthropic, Inflection, Amazon.com and OpenAI partner Microsoft — pledged to thoroughly test systems before releasing them and share information about how to reduce risks and invest in cybersecurity.
The move is seen as a win for the Biden administration’s effort to regulate the technology which has experienced a boom in investment and consumer popularity.
Since generative AI, which uses data to create new content like ChatGPT’s human-sounding prose, became wildly popular this year, lawmakers around the world began considering how to mitigate the dangers of the emerging technology to national security and the economy.
US Senate Majority Chuck Schumer, who has called for “comprehensive legislation” to advance and ensure safeguards on artificial intelligence, praised the commitments on Friday and said he would continue working to build and expand on those.
The Biden administration said it would work to establish an international framework to govern the development and use of AI, according to the White House.
Congress is considering a bill that would require political ads to disclose whether AI was used to create imagery or other content.
President Joe Biden, who is hosting executives from the seven companies at the White House on Friday, is also working on developing an executive order and bipartisan legislation on AI technology.
As part of the effort, the seven companies committed to developing a system to “watermark” all forms of content, from text, images, audios, to videos generated by AI so that users will know when the technology has been used.
This watermark, embedded in the content in a technical manner, presumably will make it easier for users to spot deep-fake images or audios that may, for example, show violence that has not occurred, create a better scam or distort a photo of a politician to put the person in an unflattering light.
It is unclear how the watermark will be evident in the sharing of the information.
The companies also pledged to focus on protecting users’ privacy as AI develops and on ensuring that the technology is free of bias and not used to discriminate against vulnerable groups. Other commitments include developing AI solutions to scientific problems like medical research and mitigating climate change.


BBC slammed for ‘shameful’ cut to ‘free Palestine’ comment at BAFTA Awards

Updated 23 February 2026
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BBC slammed for ‘shameful’ cut to ‘free Palestine’ comment at BAFTA Awards

  • Broadcaster removes from broadcast part of filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.’s acceptance speech at the British Academy Film Awards
  • Amnesty UK praises filmmaker for speaking up for those ‘facing and fleeing from persecution and mass atrocities’

LONDON: The BBC was accused on Monday of a “shameful” decision after it cut part of an acceptance speech at the previous night’s British Academy Film Awards in which a filmmaker uttered the phrase “free Palestine.”

British-Nigerian director and co-writer Akinola Davies Jr. and his brother, co-writer Wale Davies were collecting the award for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer for their film “My Father’s Shadow” when the former made the comment.

The BBC chose not to include the final part of his speech when it broadcast the BAFTAs ceremony later in the evening. However, the corporation did broadcast an inadvertent racist slur shouted by a person with Tourette syndrome while Black actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award.

Akinola thanked industry figures and family for their support as he accepted the award, before dedicating it to “all those whose parents migrated to obtain a better life for their children.”

In the final part of his speech, cut by the BBC, he said: “To the economic migrant, the conflict migrant, those under occupation, dictatorship, persecution and those experiencing genocide, you matter and your stories matter more than ever.

“Your dreams are an act of resistance. To those watching at home, archive your loved ones, archive your stories yesterday, today and forever. For Nigeria, for London, Congo, Sudan, free Palestine. Thank you.”

The BBC, which broadcast the ceremony with a two-hour time delay, said the cut was made for timing reasons.

A spokesperson told Deadline: “The live event is three hours, and it has to be reduced to two hours for its on-air slot. The same happened to other speeches made during the night, and all edits were made to ensure the program was delivered to time. All winners’ speeches will be available to watch via BAFTA’s YouTube Channel.”

Human rights campaign group Amnesty UK described the decision by the BBC to cut part of the speech as “shameful.”

It added: “Thank you Akinola Davies Jr. for using your platform to speak out for the rights of migrants and people facing and fleeing from persecution and mass atrocities, from the Congo to Sudan to Palestine.”

In June last year, the BBC was at the center of a row after it broadcast a Glastonbury Festival performance by the duo Bob Vylan, during which the lead singer chanted “death to the IDF” in protest against the Israeli Defense Forces’ assault on Gaza.