AI technology is better at composing both tweets and destructive disinformation.
Keystone / Hannes P Albert
Artificial intelligence (AI) language tools have “an unsettling knack for producing highly persuasive disinformation” that could erode democracies, according to a University of Zurich study.
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Las herramientas de IA mienten mejor que las personas, según un estudio
The study called on 697 participants to test the difference between human composed tweets and those generated by AI technology, particularly OpenAI’s GPT-3.
The topics covered climate change, vaccine safety, the Covid-19 pandemic, flat earth theory, and homeopathic treatments for cancer.
GPT-3 tweets were generally considered more accurate and to contain more easily comprehensible information. But this was not all.
The study also revealed that AI-powered systems displayed “an unsettling knack for producing highly persuasive disinformation to generate large-scale disinformation campaigns…jeopardising not only public health but also the integrity of information ecosystems vital for functioning democracies,” the study authors reported on Thursday.
“The findings underscore the critical importance of proactive regulation to mitigate the potential harm caused by AI-driven disinformation campaigns,” said co-author Nikola Biller-Andorno. “Recognizing the risks associated with AI-generated disinformation is crucial for safeguarding public health and maintaining a robust and trustworthy information ecosystem in the digital age.”
Politicians have already taken note of the potential for AI to disrupt elections in Switzerland, leading to a cross-party debate on how to manage the risks of the technology.
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