Lisbon, Dec. 3, 2024 (Lusa) - Content generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as videos, voices, images, and texts, harmed information this year, according to the majority of experts consulted in a study by IPIE—International Panel on the Information Environment.
According to a statement from IPIE and FCH-Católica, a member of the panel, the report involves more than 400 media and information experts from over 60 countries and "highlights the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology on information content", with "the vast majority of experts (63%) believing that AI-generated videos, voices, images and texts will negatively impact the global information environment in 2024".
On the same note, "more than two-thirds (67%) of experts are concerned about the growing impact of AI technologies over the next five years".
This study also shows "growing concern", they indicated, pointing out that "while just over half (54%) of the experts predicted a worsening of conditions in the information environment in 2023, the figure now rises in 2024 to 63%, with the concern being particularly pronounced in the countries of the Southern Hemisphere, where three-quarters of the experts (75%) express strong pessimism about the future of the information environment".
The experts on the panel also pointed to "the owners of social media platforms as the biggest threat to the information environment, followed by national and foreign governments, politicians and political parties".
On the other hand, "three-quarters (77%) of researchers are concerned about the ability to understand future challenges or create good public policies, due to poor access to data for research", with the study also concluding on the "critical need for greater transparency and availability of data".
"The results of the 2024 study reflect a growing consensus among the global research community about the deteriorating state of the information environment," according to the statement, adding that "the challenges posed by AI and digital technologies are substantial. Still, there is hope that advances in these areas can be harnessed to promote better information practices."
For Nelson Ribeiro, Director of the FCH-Catholic, a specialist in media and advertising, and a member of the IPIE, the data needed to advance "in understanding the information environment is not only inaccessible, it is barricaded by private networks and corporate barriers".
"Until independent researchers have access, we will remain in the dark, and our research will continue to fall short of the critical "insights" we so desperately need," he lamented, adding that "without transparency and open data, developing effective policies to combat the harms of disinformation will continue to be an uphill battle."
IPIE is an independent, global scientific organisation based in Switzerland that aims to provide the most practical scientific knowledge about threats to the global information environment.
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