UN Secretary General António Guterres began drafting a code of conduct for digital platforms on Monday aimed at regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and curbing disinformation and hate speech. online.
Defending that the world must face the “serious global damage” caused by the proliferation of hate and disinformation in the digital space, the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) presented a set of principles -of voluntary implementation- for “Governments, platforms and other interested parties”, which will subsequently lead to the creation of a code of conduct.
For this code of conduct, Guterres called for a commitment from governments and technology companies to refrain from supporting or amplifying disinformation and hate speech and to ensure a free, viable, independent and pluralistic press environment, with strong protections for journalists. journalists.
Regarding AI, the former Portuguese Prime Minister called for urgent and immediate measures to ensure that all applications that use this technology are safe, responsible and ethical, and that they comply with human rights obligations.
Guterres acknowledged that creating regulations is not an easy process as technology evolves all the time, but he stressed that companies cannot put profit above all else.
For Guterres, AI has “enormous potential” in fields such as education, the environment or health, but there is a risk that “it will create a monster that no one is capable of controlling.”
The UN leader argued that alarm over the potential threat posed by the rapid development of AI should not overshadow the damage already caused by digital technologies that enable the spread of hate speech and disinformation ‘online’.
“Digital platforms are being misused to subvert science and spread misinformation and hate to billions of people. Some of the UN’s own peacekeeping missions and humanitarian aid operations have been attacked, making make their job even more dangerous. The clear and current global threat demands clarity and coordinated global action,” Guterres told a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York.
The code of conduct will be discussed in the coming months and should be approved at the Future Summit, an important meeting that the UN has called for September 2024.
Guterres’ proposal aims to create barriers to help governments rally around guidelines that promote facts, expose conspiracies and lies, and safeguard freedom of expression and information.
Helping technology companies deal with ethical and legal issues and build business models based on a healthy information ecosystem is another of Guterres’ goals with this code of conduct.
In his proposal, Guterres also addresses advertisers, “who are deeply involved in the monetization and dissemination of harmful content”, arguing that “they must take responsibility for the impact” of their actions.
“Disinformation and hate should not generate maximum exposure and massive profits,” he said, proposing that digital platforms make a commitment to data transparency.
“Users must be able to access their own data. Researchers must have access to the vast amount of data generated by digital platforms, while respecting the privacy of users,” he added.
Source: TSF
