South Korea Summit Warns of AI Risks to Democracy
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called fake news and information manipulation based on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology threats to democracy, as attendees at a March 2024 global summit accused the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia of conducting malicious propaganda campaigns.
Countries have a duty to share experiences and knowledge so that AI and other technologies can be used to promote democracy, Yoon said at the opening of the Summit for Democracy in Seoul.
Repressive regimes that produce and distribute fake news and manipulated information — sometimes relying on AI — threaten democratic norms such as free and fair elections, Yoon said.
Digital threats to democracy, and how technology can promote democracy and universal human rights, were the focus of the summit, attended by representatives from more than 30 countries.
“As authoritarian and repressive regimes deploy technologies to undermine democracy and human rights, we need to ensure that technology sustains and supports democratic values and norms,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told attendees.
Blinken said the PRC and Russia are behind global campaigns aimed at manipulating information.
Six more countries, including Japan and South Korea, are joining a U.S.-led crackdown on the misuse of commercial spyware to surveil journalists or human rights defenders, he said.
European officials also accused Russia of conducting information manipulation campaigns using AI. Reuters
