Written by Park Ju-min and Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean president Yoon Seok Yeol On Monday, the country hosted a meeting of global officials, including the UK, EU and US, to denounce fake news and disinformation based on AI and digital technologies as a threat to democracy.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Democracy Summit, Yun said countries have an obligation to share their experiences and wisdom so that artificial intelligence and technology can be used to promote democracy.
Yun said the technological gap between countries is a major challenge and a fundamental example of why some countries lag behind in economic prosperity and fail to make democratic progress.
“Fake news and disinformation based on artificial intelligence and digital technology not only violate individual freedoms and human rights, but also threaten democratic institutions,” Yun said.
South Korea is hosting the Third Democracy Summit, an initiative of US President Joe Biden aimed at discussing ways to halt democratic backsliding and the erosion of rights and freedoms.
Digital threats to democracy and how technology can promote democracy and universal human rights are expected to be key topics at the three-day meeting.
“As authoritarian and repressive regimes deploy technology to undermine democracy and human rights, we need to ensure that technology upholds and supports democratic values and norms.” said the US Secretary of State. antony blinken He spoke at the summit meeting.
Blinken said like-minded governments and their people are working together to promote free and fair elections, noting that defending democracy is a collective effort.
Neither Blinken nor Yun mentioned the name of the country or leader.
European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Zhurova said 2024 is an election year around the world, citing threats such as the Kremlin's disinformation campaign.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied accusations that it spread false or misleading information.
Hours before the summit was to begin, North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea in its latest show of force in two months.
The meeting also began shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in Sunday's presidential election in a record landslide in the post-Soviet era.
The result means Putin, who came to power in 1999, will begin a new six-year term, which would overtake Joseph Stalin and make him Russia's longest-serving leader in more than 200 years. will become a person.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson criticized the election, saying, “Given that Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him, it is clearly not a free or fair election.'' No,” he said.
President Putin told reporters that he considers Russia's elections to be democratic, adding that protests against Alexei Navalny, organized by supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last month, were an election. He said it had no effect on the results.
The summit was also attended by British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, who said that democracy is being challenged in many ways, including by cyber attackers disrupting election activities, by espousing populist falsehoods, and by “dictators holding fake elections.'' He said he was facing threats.
In a separate session, Blinken said the U.S. government would issue first-of-its-kind guidance for tech companies to prevent attacks on human rights defenders online.
(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Ed Davis and Jerry Doyle)
