Poll body to use AI to sense trouble in 'sensitive' booths
Times of India | 18 March 2024
KOLKATA: With the number of sensitive booths running into a few thousands, the Election Commission plans to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to spot and act on electoral malpractices at such booths in this year's Lok Sabha elections.
An official at the commission's office said AI tools have been programmed to recognise the polling process in a booth and trigger alerts whenever it spots any discrepancy, such as an absence of poll officials or the presence of more than the usual number of people in a booth.
AI-based analyses of audio and video footage obtained from each station's webcast will trigger a process of "auto-selection" if any sort of irregularity is noticed, said the official. This "auto-selection" would ensure early alerts to EC officials. There are also plans to keep track of queue management through AI-based webcasting. For example, any instance of commotion or high-decibel sounds in booths would get those booths "auto-selected" by AI. Alerts would then go out to officials at the EC's office in Delhi, the CEO's office in Kolkata and the district election officer (DEO) at the district headquarters for them to verify and act on the situation with field officers, the official added.
"If a voter is present at the voting compartment for a longer-than-usual period, it will trigger an alert and the voter's face captured," the official said.
Polling data will also be analysed to look at discrepancies - such as more-than-usual votes cast in a very short time. "Machine learning algorithms can also be used to analyse election data from previous elections to identify patterns that could indicate election fraud and prevent it from happening in the future. AI technology may also be used to monitor voting machines to detect any attempts at hacking or tampering," an EC official added.
Sources said AI monitoring would be deployed at all sensitive and vulnerable booths, so that all data is properly captured, analysed and forwarded to returning officers and observers, in order for preventive measures to be adopted.
Though Election Commission officials in Bengal were tight-lipped on the number of booths where AI would be used, they said the process for releasing a tender had begun, and that the financial proposal, along with the bidders' presentation, would be held next week.
The webcast footage will be preserved, an official said, adding that audio and video data would be submitted to the DEO within 24 hours of polls.
"The web camera should be placed in such a way to cover the maximum possible area in the polling station while ensuring the secrecy of the vote," the official said, adding that since polling in Bengal is expected to be held in phases, spread over a month or more, web cameras used in the first phase may be used in later ones.