Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are boosting online disinformation and enabling governments to increase censorship and surveillance in a growing threat to human rights, a US non-profit said in a report published on Wednesday.
Global Internet freedom fell for the 13th consecutive year, with China, Myanmar and Iran having the worst conditions of the 70 countries surveyed by the Freedom on the Net report, which highlighted the risks posed by easy access to generative AI technology.
AI allows governments to “enhance and refine online censorship” and amplify digital repression, making surveillance, and the creation and spread of disinformation faster, cheaper, and more effective, the annual report by Freedom House said.
“AI can be used to supercharge censorship, surveillance, and the creation and spread of disinformation,” Freedom House president Michael Abramowitz said. “Advances in AI are amplifying a crisis for human rights online.”
By some estimates, AI-generated content could soon account for 99 percent or more of all information on the internet, overwhelming content moderation systems that are already struggling to keep up with the deluge of misinformation, tech experts say.
Governments have been slow to respond, with few countries passing legislation for the ethical use of AI, while also justifying the use of AI-based surveillance technologies, such as facial recognition, on the grounds of security.
Generative AI-based tools were used in at least 16 countries to distort information on political or social issues from June last year to May this year, the Freedom House report said, adding that the figure is likely an undercount.
Meanwhile, in at least 22 countries, social media companies were required to use automated systems for content moderation to comply with censorship rules.
With at least 65 national-level elections taking place next year, including in Indonesia, India and the US, misinformation can have major repercussions, with deepfakes already popping up from New Zealand to Turkey.
“Generative AI offers sophistication and scale to spread misinformation on a level that was previously unimaginable — it is a force multiplier of misinformation,” said Karen Rebelo, deputy editor at BOOM Live, a Mumbai-based fact-checking organization.
While AI is a “military-grade weapon in the hands of bad actors,” in India political parties and their proxies are the biggest spreaders of misinformation and disinformation, she said, and it is not in their interest to regulate AI.
While companies such as OpenAI and Google have imposed safeguards to reduce some overtly harmful uses of their AI-based chatbots, these can be easily breached, Freedom House said.
Even if deepfakes are quickly exposed, they can “undermine public trust in democratic processes, incentivize activists and journalists to self-censor, and drown out reliable and independent reporting,” the report said.
“AI-generated imagery ... can also entrench polarization and other existing tensions. In extreme cases, it could galvanize violence against individuals or whole communities,” it added.
For all its pitfalls, AI technology can be enormously beneficial, so long as governments regulate its use and enact strong data privacy laws, while also requiring better misinformation-detection tools and safeguards for human rights, the report said.
“When designed and deployed safely and fairly, AI can help people evade authoritarian censorship, counter disinformation, and document human rights abuses,” said Allie Funk, Freedom House’s research director for technology and democracy.
For example, AI is being increasingly used in fact checking and to analyze satellite imagery, social media posts and images to flag human rights abuses in conflict zones.
The US election result will significantly impact its foreign policy with global implications. As tensions escalate in the Taiwan Strait and conflicts elsewhere draw attention away from the western Pacific, Taiwan was closely monitoring the election, as many believe that whoever won would confront an increasingly assertive China, especially with speculation over a potential escalation in or around 2027. A second Donald Trump presidency naturally raises questions concerning the future of US policy toward China and Taiwan, with Trump displaying mixed signals as to his position on the cross-strait conflict. US foreign policy would also depend on Trump’s Cabinet and
The Taiwanese have proven to be resilient in the face of disasters and they have resisted continuing attempts to subordinate Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Nonetheless, the Taiwanese can and should do more to become even more resilient and to be better prepared for resistance should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) try to annex Taiwan. President William Lai (賴清德) argues that the Taiwanese should determine their own fate. This position continues the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) tradition of opposing the CCP’s annexation of Taiwan. Lai challenges the CCP’s narrative by stating that Taiwan is not subordinate to the
Republican candidate and former US president Donald Trump is to be the 47th president of the US after beating his Democratic rival, US Vice President Kamala Harris, in the election on Tuesday. Trump’s thumping victory — winning 295 Electoral College votes against Harris’ 226 as of press time last night, along with the Republicans winning control of the US Senate and possibly the House of Representatives — is a remarkable political comeback from his 2020 defeat to US President Joe Biden, and means Trump has a strong political mandate to implement his agenda. What does Trump’s victory mean for Taiwan, Asia, deterrence
The return of US president-elect Donald Trump to the White House has injected a new wave of anxiety across the Taiwan Strait. For Taiwan, an island whose very survival depends on the delicate and strategic support from the US, Trump’s election victory raises a cascade of questions and fears about what lies ahead. His approach to international relations — grounded in transactional and unpredictable policies — poses unique risks to Taiwan’s stability, economic prosperity and geopolitical standing. Trump’s first term left a complicated legacy in the region. On the one hand, his administration ramped up arms sales to Taiwan and sanctioned
RSS