Big tech companies pose an immeasurable threat: socially, politically, militarily and ecologically. They are also causing a profound crisis of information. The tools they design now serve as weapons of mass destruction against democracy.
There is so much at stake that an urgent and broad mobilisation is required. From the harvesting of personal data and the weaponisation of public opinion, to the destruction of jobs, the infringement of civil liberties and environmental damage, ordinary citizens are the main victims of this predatory economy – an economy with an agenda that aligns with the interests of the planet’s most authoritarian and reactionary states. The threats facing the information landscape affect us all.
Journalists of my generation have witnessed four major digital revolutions: the internet, social media, smartphones, and now, artificial intelligence. What fundamentally changes with AI is our relationship with the truth. For big tech companies, the boundary between truth and falsehood has vanished.
This makes it essential to reaffirm the role of public-interest journalism. Our mission is to publish information that is in the public interest by seeking the factual truth, standing against “fake news” and propaganda. Our mission is to help create a democratic public sphere that serves citizens.
Yet AI companies are completely reshaping this space to their own advantage; their mission is not the public interest, but generating profits. Their methods include plundering news outlets without authorisation or compensation. By disseminating so-called summaries of our reporting, they siphon off our audiences and revenue, serving the private interests of a select few at the expense of the common good.
The difference between AI-generated content and a real news article is journalism. AI-generated responses are not information. They are merely a logical assembly of words that all too often produces falsehoods, distorts facts and misinterprets information.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
