Rapid advances in artificial intelligence can help wrong information thrive next year, a new report is warning.
That’s according to Top Risk Report 2023an annual document from geopolitical risk analysts at the US-based Eurasia Group.
The report said the “weapons of mass disruption” emerging from rapid technological innovations “will erode social trust, empower demagogues and authoritarians, and disrupt businesses.” industry and market”.
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That is why this threat ranks third on its list, second only to the risks posed by an increasingly aggressive China and a rogue Russia.
“This year will be a tipping point for the role of disruptive technology in society. A new form of AI, called generalized AI, will allow users to create realistic images, videos and text with just a few sentences of instruction,” the report said.
“Large language models like the GPT-3 and the soon-to-be-released GPT-4 will be able to reliably pass the Turing test—a Rubicon for machines’ ability to mimic human intelligence. “
These models, along with advances in deepfakes – digitally altered videos that can emulate everyone from your favorite singer to prime minister – facial recognition technology and voice synthesis software “will make controlling one’s likeness a relic of the past,” the report warns.
“User-friendly apps like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion will allow anyone less tech-savvy to harness the power of AI,” it said.
While revolutionary technologies have the power to “drive human progress,” that is often matched by “their ability to amplify humanity’s most destructive tendencies,” the report said. more — and that is exactly the risk the Eurasia Group is warning the world about.
Misinformation and misinformation have shaken the geopolitical stage, even without the aid of artificial intelligence.
A scholarly analysis of at least six million tweets and retweets — and their origins — shows that Canada is being targeted by Russia to influence public opinion here.
Research by University of Calgary School of Public Policy in June discovered that a large number of tweets and retweets about the war in Ukraine can be traced back to Russia and China, with even more tweets expressing pro-Russian sentiment originating in the United States.
Misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine is rampant at protests that clogged the streets of downtown Ottawa for three weeks in February 2022 — and experiments had found that bots have played a big part in helping spread false stories about the virus.
As AI technology advances, the likelihood of those using the technology — including those using it to spread misinformation — also increases.
“These advances represent a step change in AI’s potential to manipulate people and sow political chaos,” the report said.
“As barriers to content creation cease to exist, the volume of content grows exponentially, rendering most citizens unable to reliably distinguish fact from fiction. Misinformation will flourish and trust – the already fragile foundation of social, commercial and democratic cohesion – will be further eroded.”
Those with political goals may find themselves particularly empowered by these rapid advances.
“Political actors will use AI breakthroughs to create low-cost armies of human-like bots tasked with raising fringe candidates, selling conspiracy theories and ‘ fake news’, inciting polarization and exacerbating extremism and even violence – all of which is amplified by the echo chamber social network, the report warns.
“We will certainly see this trend play out this year in the early stages of the primary season in the US… as well as in the general elections in Spain and Pakistan.”
The Government of Canada has committed to taking steps to tackle misinformation online.
November, the government make an invoice promulgate Its promised digital charter. The law is aimed at modernizing measures to protect personal information online as artificial intelligence spreads – and it also promises to “protect against online threats and misinformation that are discovered.” designed to undermine the integrity of elections and democratic institutions”.
Meanwhile, the government has faced calls to go even further.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has appointed a team of experts to help him shape legislation on online harm. In summer, they begged him to include misinformation — including deepfake videos and bots that spread deception — fall within the scope of the proposed measure.
Electoral Director Stephane Perrault also called on the government to act in a report sent to the House of Representatives in June. He suggested that Canada make it illegal to knowingly spread misinformation about the voting process and attempt to undermine legitimate election results.
As these calls ring out, the Eurasia Group is warning that American-style divisions are spreading to Canada.
Due to a combination of “declining trust in the traditional media” and “Canada’s profound and unique exposure to the US media and political ecosystem,” Top Risks Report warned that “Canada’s belligerent partisan and regional politics are poised to change for the worse.”
“As the political temperature rises, we will see closer coordination between the far-right and far-left groups of the United States and Canada — with the risk of disturbances, demonstrations, civil disobedience, and even violence. increasing,” it warned.
“When America sneezes, Canada catches a cold. Watch out for sniffles north of the border in 2023.”
– with files from the Canadian Press
