Experts discussed the role of AI in creating information and disinformation at an open online seminar on fact-checking

The Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN) hosted the second webinar in its educational series on December 2. Titled “How AI is Shaping a New Reality, Blurring the Line Between Truth and Fake,” the session featured two AI experts who briefed participants on current trends in the use of AI technologies within today’s media landscape.

Lily Ong, a GFCN expert and IBM cybersecurity analyst with Geopolitics360, delivered an in-depth analysis of algorithms used to generate AI-created content and offered expert advice on identifying fakes. In her presentation, she highlighted the widespread impact that online fakes have on society globally:

“We see it in the political arena. There’s so much stuff put out by the political rivals. Sometimes it’s not true. You could have Obama saying what he did not say or Trump doing what he did not do. And this has a huge impact — not just on them as a person, but on a country as a whole — because it affects democracy, it affects elections, it affects who’s gonnalead a country, and it affects international relations as well.”

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In answering a question posed by one of the avid participants, Lily Ong emphasized that the integration of digital content into modern society bears huge implications for various aspects of our lives, including journalism, collective understanding of reality, and democracy. She stated that digital content plays a central role in how we consume information, but it presents not only challenges but opportunities as well.  

“The genie is out of the bottle — we can’t put it back in. So, we have to learn how to manage it. And we can do it with proper skills, but we have to put an effort into learning them, of course.”

She concluded by emphasizing the value of organizations like GFCN, which equip journalists and readers with crucial skills on fact-checking in a 24/7 news cycle.

Mikhail Neustroev, PhD in Economics, member of the New Media School Expert Club, expert on the use of neural networks in business and PR, continued the topic of the use of AI technologies, revealing how artificial intelligence can not only create fakes, but also identify them:

“Recently a massive scandal hit the BBC, revealed they broadcasted doctored speech of Donald Trump, editing it to make it look like he was inciting a riot when he wasn’t. And if BBC — the supposed ‘gold standard’ of journalism — is capable of creating deepfakes of misleading context, who can we trust? The answer is no one. And, we must verify everything. Ironically, we will use AI to do it.”

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Pointing out the dual nature of modern AI technologies development, Mikhail Neustroev emphasized that although AI tools can greatly facilitate the work of a fact checker, it is dangerous to rely on it completely. The expert on the use of neural networks gave the audience detailed instructions on how to use the capabilities of artificial intelligence to work with information.

In total, the second webinar of GFCN educational series on fact-checking gathered more than 350 participants who proved themselves not only listeners, but also active participants in the discussion at the end of the main program.

The next online session is coming soon on December 9 at 12:00 (UTC+3). Join via this link.