Britain Invites Democratic Countries To Fight AI Threats From Countries Considered Evil

British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden called on democracies in the world to unite to face the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) (photo: x @cabinetofficeuk)

JAKARTA - British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has called on democracies in the world to unite to face the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) used by evil countries to disrupt general elections and spread disinformation.

Dowden is in Seoul to attend the Democracy Summit. On Monday, March 18, he announced plans for a new global government pact to counter the use of fraudulent AI by foreign countries in elections.

South Korea hosted its third Democratic Summit conference, an initiative by US President Joe Biden aimed at discussing ways to stop democratic declines and erosion of rights and freedoms.

Details of the pact are still under construction, but Dowden said several countries had signed it, without specifying which countries.

Referring to the deal of major tech companies at the Munich Security Conference in February to coordinate a response to AI-made deepfakes that deliberately deceived voters, Dowden said it was time for the government to follow suit.

"The UK is leading a government-led process, a government-led deal to address threats from AI from foreign countries," he said in an interview at the British Embassy in Seoul.

Britain has been involved in a debate over Kate Midleton's edited photo, Wales Princess, in which she apologized after several prominent news organizations, and withdrew the photo citing post-publication analysis showing that the photo did not meet editorial standards.

Dowden said the incident was "completely separate" from the risk of misinformation from "bad foreign countries" seeking to disrupt democratic elections.

"This pact is not about the internal politics of each country, it is the right of the nation," said Dowden.

Dowden said the risks from AI arise amid other challenges to freedom and democracy around the world.

"For me, the number one threat to democracy right now is a war that is happening in Ukraine," he said. "That's why I think today's discussion has an additional advantage, because of the threats we face against democracy today."

Dowden said he was deeply concerned about reports of arms transfers from North Korea to Russia, and asked Moscow to stop disturbing on the Korean peninsula.

Pyongyang and Moscow have been in closer ties since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia last September and pledged to deepen military ties. They denied Western accusations that North Korea supplied Russia with artillery shells and missiles used in Putin's invasion of Ukraine.