Canada’s AI Minister Urged to Address AI Risks

Canada's Minister of AI, Evan Solomon, is facing challenges in addressing disinformation currently affecting the public sphere. AI is democratizing intelligence by making data analysis, task automation, and decision-making more accessible. However, when efficiency-enhanced tasks corrode society, it becomes a concern. Minister Solomon is urged to focus on these less optimistic narratives.

San Francisco-based AI firm Anthropic recently reported that hackers have been using its Claude chatbot for extensive cybercrime operations, including reconnaissance of company infrastructures, creating malware, and analyzing data for extortion purposes. These tasks are now fully automated.

The U.S. military is pursuing AI-driven covert influence operations to suppress dissenting arguments. AI-enabled disinformation campaigns are linked to various governments, including China, Russia, Iran, Rwanda, and Israel. During recent conflicts between Israel and Iran, AI-generated videos and synthetic content were deployed.

Private firms are often behind these operations. The convergence of powerful AI tools and a deteriorating political climate has created an ecosystem for 'dark PR' companies. Israel-based Psy-Group has claimed to use AI-enabled disinformation in multiple elections worldwide.

AI companies have taken steps to address the issue, but these are insufficient. Governments should mandate transparency reporting and legal requirements for tech platforms to be open to public-interest research. Investigations into AI's negative psycho-social effects should be encouraged.