Yoon says fake news threatens freedom, elections at AI Safety Summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday said spreading false information through fake news may "harm freedom and democracy" in the era of generative artificial intelligence, at the AI Safety Summit with world leaders.

Yoon took part in the global AI Safety Summit hosted by Britain through video call to discuss methods of global cooperation on the safe use of AI and the importance of establishing governance, according to the presidential office on Friday.

“With the rise of generative AI like ChatGPT, our lives and industrial productivity has increased greatly,” said Yoon. “However, the digital divide has greatly worsened the economic divide and the increasing (amount) of fake news can undermine our freedom and threaten our democratic system.”

Yoon introduced the “Digital Bill of Rights” which South Korea released in September and mentioned its five principles of freedom, fairness, safety, innovation and solidarity as fundamental values and a philosophy that should be pursued in the AI digital era.

Yoon also added that digital technologies, including AI, should only contribute to expanding freedom and welfare for humans without it becoming a safety threat to individuals and society.

“Everyone should be guaranteed a fair opportunity for competition and innovation and the (whole of) society should be able to enjoy the benefits digital technologies bring,” Yoon added.

Korea will host the AI Global Forum in support of the international organization launched under the United Nations, tasked with establishing a global AI governance system. Korea and Britain will also co-host a mini-virtual summit in May 2024 as part of the AI Safety Summit.

According to the presidential office, President Yoon is committed to working closely with the AI safety network proposed during the summit and the high-level advisory body launched by the UN last month.