South Korea hosted summit warns of AI risks to democracy

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has called fake news and disinformation based on AI and digital technology threats to democracy, as some officials attending a global summit accused Russia and China of conducting malicious propaganda campaigns.

Speaking at the opening of the Summit for Democracy in Seoul on March 18, Yoon said countries had a duty to share experiences and wisdom so that artificial intelligence and technology could be employed to promote democracy.

"Fake news and disinformation based on artificial intelligence and digital technology not only violates individual freedom and human rights but also threatens democratic systems," Yoon said, according to Reuters.

South Korea is hosting the third Summit for Democracy conference, an initiative of U.S. President Joe Biden aimed at discussing ways to stop democratic backsliding and erosion of rights and freedoms.

Digital threats to democracy, and how technology can promote democracy and universal human rights, were expected to be the main agenda of the three-day meetings in Seoul, attended by representatives from more than 30 countries, ranging from Costa Rica to the United States and Ghana.

"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 the summit.

Blinken later said 2024 was an "extraordinary election year" to highlight the risks of disinformation and falsehoods in cyberspace. He also repeated Washington's accusations that Russia and China were behind global campaigns aimed at manipulating information.

Blinken said Washington was releasing the first guidance of its kind for tech companies to help prevent attacks on human rights defenders online.

In addition, he said at the summit that a half-dozen more countries, including South Korea and Japan, were joining a U.S.-led crackdown on the misuse of commercial spyware to surveil journalists or human rights defenders.

Some European officials also accused Russia of conducting disinformation campaigns using AI. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied accusations of spreading false or misleading information.