Source: AFP
Fighting disinformation, including artificial intelligence-enabled content, is a “vital” national security interest and diplomatic priority for the United States, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Monday at a democracy summit in Seoul.
Blinken is in South Korea for this week’s third Democracy Summit, an initiative of US President Joe Biden that brings together government officials, NGOs and members of civil society.
Saying that digital technologies, including both social media and artificial intelligence, were “dramatically accelerating the speed and spread of disinformation,” Blinken described U.S. efforts to push back against the issue.
“Building a more resilient information environment is a vital US national security interest and an urgent priority for our diplomacy,” he said.
“Today, the State Department is releasing what we call a ‘Democracy Roadmap’ of recommendations to help people become more aware and resistant to information manipulation,” he said.
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![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/630e97523267d204.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
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This will include “encouraging social media platforms to flag AI-generated content so users know when an image is real or not,” he said.
Blinken also outlined a number of efforts to support the media industry, including a crackdown on the “use of commercial spyware to monitor and harass journalists, human rights defenders and others — including leveraging sanctions, export controls and visa restrictions for reservations by governments and companies accountable”.
At last year’s summit, 10 countries pledged to ensure spyware technology was developed “in line with global human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he said, with another half-dozen nations — including South Korea — set to sign this year.
Propaganda sites typically rely on armies of writers, but AI generation tools now offer a significantly cheaper and faster way to create content that is often difficult to decipher from authentic information.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/9434764127095303.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/9434764127095303.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
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Hundreds of AI-powered websites impersonating news outlets have sprung up in recent months, fueling an explosion of false narratives — about everything from war to politicians — that researchers say are causing alarm in a high-stakes election year across the globe. people.
Experts say auto-generated disinformation could have a major impact on the 2024 US election, with many other countries, including South Korea which has parliamentary elections in April, also concerned about the issue.
Source: AFP