UN chief calls for coordinated global action on disinformation, hate and artificial intelligence | The Hill

[Gunnar Larson]

UN chief calls for coordinated global action on disinformation, hate and
artificial intelligence
BY EDITH M. LEDERER, ASSOCIATED PRESS - 06/12/23 5:46 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The proliferation of hate and lies on digital
platforms and the threat that artificial intelligence can become an
uncontrolled “monster” demand coordinated global action — starting with a
code of conduct for governments, tech companies and advertisers that
promotes truth and protects human rights, the U.N. chief said Monday.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he plans to appoint a scientific
advisory board in a few days, and an advisory board on artificial
intelligence in September to prepare initiatives that the U.N. can take. He
said he would react favorably to a new U.N. agency on artificial
intelligence and suggested as a model the International Atomic Energy
Agency, which is knowledge-based and has some regulatory powers.


Guterres told a news conference he plans to consult widely on the just
released principles for the U.N. Code of Conduct for Information Integrity
on Digital Platforms, which he will issue before next year’s U.N. Summit of
the Future.

He expressed hope that the code will be widely supported, but when asked
whether governments and tech companies are willing to take steps to make
digital space safer, he replied, “That’s the question I ask myself.”

“We are dealing with a business that generates massive profits, and we are
dealing also in some situations with governments that do not entirely
respect human rights, so this is a constant battle — and in this constant
battle, we must mobilize all those that are committed to information
integrity in digital platforms,” he said.

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Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism,
agreed that while it’s a positive step that the U.N. is calling for
international solutions to this global problem, its code of conduct won’t
likely be sufficient to stop the torrent of false and hateful information
online.

“The fact of the matter is that voluntary codes, including the companies’
own terms of service on these issues, have failed to rein them in,” Beirich
said. “The problem for the U.N. is they can’t do what it seems is going to
have to be done to deal with this problem, which is basically legislation.”

Guterres said there are many initiatives underway, including a law and code
of conduct in the European Union for its 27 member nations and a U.K.
summit on AI safety in the autumn. Other governments also are looking into
forms of regulation. But he said there is a view that regulation isn’t easy
because things are moving very quickly, and that therefore a global
approach is needed.


Guterres said a key problem is that the tech company business model
prioritizes engagement over privacy, truth and human rights. He said tech
companies need to understand that massive profits cannot be created “at the
expense of a model of engagement that goes before any other consideration.”

The U.N. chief said the code of conduct will not be a solution, “but it
will be global” and it will enable governments, tech companies, advertisers
and others “to commit to what needs to be done in order to guarantee or at
least to seriously promote information integrity in digital platforms.”

The principles Guterres laid out for the code of conduct include
commitments “to refrain from using, supporting or amplifying disinformation
and hate speech for any purpose. ”


For governments, it seeks commitments not to respond to misinformation,
disinformation and hate speech by blocking legitimate comment, shutting
down the internet or banning platforms or media outlets — and to guarantee
protections for journalists and independent media.

For companies that control digital platforms, it seeks a pledge to be
transparent about their algorithms, advertising and how they deal with
misinformation, disinformation and hate speech — and to eliminate double
standards that allow hate speech and disinformation to flourish in some
languages and countries while they are prevented more effectively in
others. Tech companies are also urged to give people a greater choice over
the content that they see, and how their data is used.

Guterres said a commitment sought from digital platforms includes “urgent
and immediate measures to ensure that all AI applications are safe, secure,
responsible and ethical, and comply with human rights obligations.”


He said the United Nations “will try to be in the center of all the
networks and movements that will be created” to deal with AI technology as
it develops. But he said this won’t be easy because governments and
international organizations haven’t invested sufficiently in recent decades
in personnel who have the necessary scientific and technical knowledge.

“It also requires the commitment of the platforms themselves, and of the AI
creators themselves,” Guterres said, “but we will do our best to be a
platform where everybody can be together in order to make this agenda
advance positively.”


https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-technology/un-chief-calls-for-coordinated-global-action-on-disinformation-hate-and-artificial-intelligence/
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