UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged a global fight against the tyranny of algorithm-driven online media supercharged by artificial intelligence (AI) that promotes disinformation and puts \u201clives at stake\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou are the majority, and this is a fight we can win \u2014 together,\u201d he said on Monday. \u201cDemand accountability; demand choice; demand control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Releasing the UN\u2019s Global Principles for Information Integrity, he said, \u201cNo one should be at the mercy of an algorithm they don\u2019t control, which was not designed to safeguard their interests, and which tracks their behaviour to collect personal data and keep them hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOpaque algorithms push people into information bubbles and reinforce prejudices including racism, misogyny, and discrimination of all kinds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He warned that threats to information integrity are not new, \u201cthey are proliferating and expanding with unprecedented speed on digital platforms, supercharged by AI technologies\u201d becoming vehicles for spreading hate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen information integrity is targeted, so is democracy \u2014 which depends on a shared, fact-based perception of reality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He appealed to the media to \u201craise and enforce editorial standards\u201d against the onslaught of disinformation and manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo your part to safeguard our future by providing quality journalism based on facts and reality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exorciating the big tech companies for \u201cthe damage your products are inflicting on people and communities\u201d, he told them to acknowledge the harm they have done and take responsibility for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have the power to change business models that profit from disinformation and hate\u201d and \u201cto mitigate harm to people and societies around the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turning to the role of governments, he said, \u201cCommit to creating and maintaining a free, viable, independent, and plural media landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He urged governments to \u201cguarantee strong protection for journalists\u201d and ensure \u201cregulations to uphold human rights\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also came out against \u201cdrastic measures, including blanket internet shutdowns\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guterres said that he had himself been the victim of campaigns of disinformation, citing the example of the campaign falsely claiming that he had never condemned Hamas, which carried out brutal attacks on Israel last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fact check showed that he had, in fact, condemned Hamas 102 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN\u2019s Global Principles for Information Integrity, as outlined by him, are based on five rubrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The principles were arrived at after broad consultations with member nations, youth leaders, academia, civil society, and the private sector including tech companies and the media, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are \u201cbased on an overriding vision of a more humane (information) ecosystem\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Guterres unequivocally \u2014 and the principles \u2014 come out against internet shutdown and enshrine the right of everyone to \u201cexpress themselves freely without fear of attack\u201d and \u201cto access a range of views and information sources\u201d, they do not adequately address what can be done to limit harm in situations of civil unrest, or war. IANS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged a global fight against the tyranny of algorithm-driven online media supercharged by artificial intelligence (AI) that promotes disinformation and puts \u201clives at stake\u201d. \u201cYou are the majority, and this is a fight we can win \u2014 together,\u201d he said on Monday. \u201cDemand accountability; demand choice; demand control.\u201d Releasing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n