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'Rise of AI' may fuel disinformation, threaten democracy
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen called on news and media publishers to play a greater role in fighting disinformation and propaganda by any forces that threaten democracy.
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Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during the World News Media Congress in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 28. (Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
T
aiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said growing disinformation had become the most difficult challenge for democracies, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) would allow propaganda by authoritarian forces to be generated and distributed at an unprecedented rate.
“They progressively promote the narrative that democracy has faltered and is inefficient, therefore, the less democratic option will be adopted,” she said on Wednesday, in her opening speech at the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress.
Lauded as the top democracy in Asia, Taiwan has faced increasing military pressures from China as its relations grow closer to the United States. Beijing has started to launch military exercises near the island since then-US house speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in 2022.
The military drills continued in April after Tsai met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
Taiwan ranked first in Asia and 10th among 167 countries and territories observed in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2022. Japan and South Korea trails behind, ranking 16th and 24th, respectively, in the global ranking.
In the first world news congress in Asia after the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai called on news and media publishers to play a greater role in fighting disinformation and propaganda by any forces that threaten democracy.
“This effort requires all participants in civil society to act together,” she said.
