Perplexity’s Election Information Center could also blur the line between verified and freely AI-generated information. While some results came directly from trusted sources, the search for more information led to open AI-generated results on the web in general.
Other AI companies appear to be taking a more cautious approach to the election. In WIRED testing, ChatGPT Search, a recently launched service by OpenAI, often refused to provide voting information. “We have directed ChatGPT not to express preferences, offer opinions, or make specific recommendations about candidates or political issues, even when explicitly requested to do so,” OpenAI spokesperson Mattie Zazueta told WIRED.
However, the results were often inconsistent. For example, the tool sometimes refused to offer talking points to help persuade someone to vote for one candidate or another, and sometimes offered some willingly.
Google’s search engine also avoided providing AI-generated results related to the election. The company saying in August it would limit the use of AI in relation to elections in search and other applications. “This new technology may make mistakes as it learns or as news breaks,” the company said in a blog post.
However, even regular search results are sometimes problematic. During Tuesday’s vote, some Google users I noticed that a search for “Where I vote for Harris” provided the location of the voting information, while a search for “Where I vote for Trump” did not. Google explained this was because search interpreted the query as related to Harris County in Texas.
Some other pioneers in the pursuit of AI, such as Perplexity, are taking a bolder approach. You.com, another startup that combines language models with conventional web searches, announced its own electoral tool on Tuesday, created in collaboration with tolla company that provides AI companies with managed access to content as well as Headquarters of the decision boarda company that provides access to survey results.
Perplexity appears to have been particularly bold in its approach to radically changing web search. In June, a WIRED investigation found evidence that a bot associated with Perplexity was ignoring instructions not to scrape WIRED.com and other sites belonging to WIRED’s parent company, Condé Nast. The analysis confirmed a previous report from developer Robb Knight about the behavior of bots operated by Perplexity.
The AI search engine is also accused of relying liberally on news sites. For example, also in June, a Forbes editor noticed that Perplexity had summarized extensive details of an investigation published by the outlet with footnote citations. Forbes Reportedly Sent a Letter threatening legal action against Perplexity for practice.
In October, News Corp sued Perplexity for copying content from The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. The lawsuit claims that Perplexity is violating copyright law because it sometimes fabricated news sections and falsely attributed words to its posts.