AI contributes to worsen the credibility of elections- study

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 19 - The improper use of artificial intelligence (AI) during electoral campaigns was one of the factors, together with government intimidation, foreign interference and misinformation, that contributed to the deterioration of the quality of electoral processes over the past year, according to a new report on the global state of democracy published by International IDEA - the International institute for democracy and democratic assistance.
    In particular, these factors contributed to the worst decline in the indicator measuring the credibility of elections and of parliamentary control analysed in the report.
    "What we are seeing is that all threats are a reality: misinformation, cyberattacks, deepfakes are increasingly used during electoral campaigns, but I think that we are more aware than we were five years ago: there are fact-checkers, electoral commissions have dedicated people and structures", the director of the European program of International IDEA, Sam van der Staak, told ANSA.
    "Overall, we are able to resist better", added van der Staark, while urging to remain vigilant.
    "It is a constantly moving target, so we could witness a crisis or an incident with each new election", noted the expert, recalling the discovery two weeks ago by the secret services of a Russian misinformation operation in the US electoral campaign.
    The irruption of AI adds complexity to democracies and the use of rights, in particular digital ones.
    The study highlighted the risk that algorithms based on AI and used to classify social media content could compromise the "freedom of expression and access to information during the elections" within an "already stressed information environment".
    AI systems, the experts observed, can "exacerbate the impact of digital repression" for example by making digital surveillance and online censorship more pervasive.
    "In order to better protect themselves from existing and emerging digital threats, democracies from all over the world must boost the safeguard of citizens' rights", the report warned, mentioning the AI Act and the Digital service Act among the "scarce" examples of "legislative efforts to deal with these problems in the respect of democratic principles and human rights". (ANSA).