Disinformation

Spreading false information as a tactic is as old as history itself. Incidentally, the term "disinformation" comes from the Russian word "Dezinformatsiya", which was coined by the Soviet secret police in the 1920s. Since the advent of the internet, especially with the introduction of Web 2.0, the spread of disinformation has increased significantly. Everyone has the opportunity to disseminate their views globally and present their interpretation of the truth. Recently, content created by artificial intelligence in particular, such as convincing deepfakes, has contributed to an increase in this phenomenon.

Creating potentially credible content on any topic or agenda is easier and cheaper than ever before thanks to AI. As a result, information is generally no longer of high value, while authentic and reliable information is becoming increasingly valuable. However, verifying the credibility of sources remains a challenge. Technical means of authenticating messages, such as digital watermarks, signatures or time stamps, do exist, but are rarely used in practice by citizens for world news, for example.

According to the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2024, disinformation, particularly that generated by AI, is categorized as one of the most urgent global risks. The World Economic Forum points out that in response to the increase in misinformation and disinformation, governments may become more inclined to control information according to their own definition of "truth". This could further restrict already diminishing freedoms on the internet, in the press and in access to comprehensive sources of information, and lead to increased suppression of the flow of information in many countries.

I see disinformation as one of the most pressing problems in the coming years and see the risk of censorship, the undermining of press freedom and the increasing power of large platforms. At the same time, I hope that technical solutions for verifying the authenticity of information will be increasingly used in news and media in the future. Just as Napster has triggered a revolution in streaming media and PayPal in online commerce, I hope that AI will ultimately provide the decisive impetus to fundamentally change the way we consume information and news and promote positive development in the process.