New AI and free press standards fortify the fight against autocracy Posted on : Dec 20 - 2021

Individual human rights, privacy and the free press are under siege in an increasing number of countries around the world. Liberty itself is being challenged by authoritarian governments whose power is enhanced by the unethical use of social media, facial recognition technology and the ability to intercept private communications.

Even in democracies, disinformation and doctored videos are often used on social media to undermine confidence in political leaders. Conspiracy theories abound, amplified by unregulated technology. As we have seen in the United States, democracy is threatened when a high percentage of citizens lose confidence in governance and the electoral system.

In the past two weeks, two organizations took steps to fight back against these attacks on democracy: the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. And the Biden administration joined the fight for a free press.

On Nov. 25, UNESCO announced a remarkable consensus agreement among 193 member states creating the first-ever global standard on the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI). The text of that agreement will guide the formulation of national laws that will encourage the healthy development of artificial intelligence systems while calling more attention to their misuse by autocratic governments and criminal elements.

The Nobel Committee made its contribution by awarding its Peace Prize to two courageous journalists: Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitri Muratov of Russia. These journalists demonstrated personal bravery by persisting in exposing powerful and corrupt leaders despite physical and legal attacks against them. They represented the global journalism profession that has seen the murder and incarceration of so many of its members.

In her Dec. 10 acceptance speech, Ressa mentioned the names of the journalists who had lost their lives in recent years and indirectly reinforced the importance of the UNESCO global ethical standard when she said:  "Our greatest need today is to transform the hate and violence… that’s coursing through our information ecosystem, prioritized by American internet companies that make more money by spreading that hate and triggering the worst in us."

Ressa, who also won the UNESCO Press Freedom award in 2021, has 10 arrest warrants against her for exposing the campaign of Philippines President Duterte’s war on drugs, in which thousands have been killed by the government without the benefit of due process. She lives in constant fear of spending the rest of her life in prison.

She appealed to foreign assistance donors to spend more development dollars to strengthen her profession and urged governments to pass laws that regulate “algorithms that have been programmed by humans with their coded biases” and “profit-driven” motives. View more