Regulating AI and supporting the media are key to defending democracy in the face of disinformation

Guadalajara, Jalisco, December 16, 2024.- Faced with the information overload and the crisis of mis-and-disinformation in the world today, exacerbated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary General for Global Communication, calls to regulate AI and support media with reliable content to defend democracy.

“With the emergence of artificial intelligence, we have difficulty distinguishing between what is real and what is not (...) We are seeing it all over the world and we are very concerned. We see that people are losing confidence in the information they receive and in the institutions that are part of democracy”, stressed Melissa Fleming, during her participation in the panel ‘The Day When AI Would Replace Democracy’, held on December 4 at the Guadalajara International Book Fair 2024 by FIL Pensamiento.

Speaking to hundreds of students, Fleming highlighted the positive uses of artificial intelligence and its revolutionary capacity and potential to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. She mentioned innovative tools, such as Food AI, HungerMap LIVE and PulseSatellite, which contribute to humanitarian responses, climate action and peacebuilding.

However, she also warned about the “dark side of AI”, such as the saturation of fake news content designed with artificial intelligence and the use of deepfakes to impersonate, misinform and manipulate people. This year, when more than 50 countries held elections, numerous cases of deepfakes for political purposes were reported around the world, undermining people's trust and thus democracy.

In addition to this, the collapse of the traditional media business model largely due to algorithms in social networks designed with AI, is one of the reasons why the information ecosystem has deteriorated in recent years, she said.

“Many media outlets are going extinct. Now, we have more social media networks, more information, but it is too much information, and too much mis-and-disinformation. People are not able to recognize truth from fiction and this is detrimental to trustworthy information as a fundamental pillar for democracy,” stressed the UN Chief of Global Communications.

Fleming urged students and the public to consume reliable information and strengthen their educational tools, in addition to helping the media that do verify information. “We cannot give up. Let's seek out and support credible sources of information. Let's pay for newspaper subscriptions and let´s buy books,” she said.

Regulation for responsible AI

During her intervention, Fleming also emphasized the urgent need for AI governance to regulate its use and close digital divides.

To this end, she called for inclusive and equitable governance frameworks that respect human rights and prioritize the needs of vulnerable populations, in line with what was agreed in the Pact for the Future at the United Nations headquarters in September 2024, which includes the Global Digital Compact, a landmark agreement and framework for AI governance and digital cooperation.

“There are still many people who lack access to the internet. We need to ensure that they are not excluded from digital benefits, including AI. But we also need to ensure the safe use of AI that puts people at the center. Inclusion is key to accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

The Global Digital Compact proposes to create an International Scientific Panel on AI and Emerging Technologies to conduct independent, multidisciplinary, evidence-based scientific risk and opportunity assessments. Like the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has scientists from around the world. “We need to gather a multidisciplinary group to ensure that IA benefits us all,” said Melissa Fleming. 

The Global Digital Compact also proposes to initiate, under the auspices of the UN, a Global Dialogue on AI Governance, to be approved by the General Assembly. 

Finally, Melissa Fleming recommended those present to learn about and adopt the UN Global Principles For Information Integrity, launched in June 2024 by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. These principles have recommendations for digital platforms, governments, traditional media, advertisers and users to take responsibility for building a more humane, safe and peaceful information ecosystem.

For more information on the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity, please visit www.un.org/information-integrity.

The panel “The Day When AI Would Replace Democracy” was part of the Forum “Horizons of AI: work, democracy and power”, organized by FIL Pensamiento at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara. Other participants in the panel included: Cristina Martínez Pinto, founder and director of the PIT Policy Lab and Master in Public Policy from Georgetown University; Sissi de la Peña, Director of International Affairs at the Mexican Academy on Cybersecurity (AMCID) and member of the Tech Policy Fellowship 2024-2025 at UC Berkeley; Tarcízio Silva, PhD in Social Sciences and Humanities and author of the book “Algorithmic Racism: Artificial Intelligence and Discrimination in Digital Networks”, and Raúl Trejo Delarbre, Professor at the Institute for Social Research at UNAM, National University Award in Social Science Research 2023. The moderator was César Guillermo Ruvalcaba Gómez, Administrative Secretary of CUAltos and PhD in Law, Government and Public Policy from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

The full video of the discussion can be seen at the following link: The Day When AI Would Replace Democracy.

Texto: Eloísa Farrera | Fotografías: Tania García y Eloísa Farrera - CINU México

The UN's Chief of Global Communications visited Guadalajara, Jalisco, from December 2 to 6, 2024, where she participated in the 34th International Publishers Congress and the Guadalajara International Book Fair. Learn more about Melissa Fleming's activities in the following Special Bulletin (click on the image):