Elections can be targeted by fraudulent information influence from abroad or from within the country. Democracy can be defended by improving citizens' digital literacy.
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“Yes this will become clearer”, concluded the outgoing President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö in his last New Year's speech. Niinistö strongly emphasized the role of competence and learning – like the public school generation, nostalgic for “reading, calculation and exercise”. However, in the era of artificial intelligence, these important lessons alone are not enough in the flood of information accelerated by digitization.
The year 2024 is an election year, but also a theme year for education. Our democratic society depends on the availability of reliable information and the ability of citizens to distinguish incorrect and misleading information from information that can be trusted. Information produced by generative artificial intelligence alone should not be relied upon.
What do the presidential candidates think about generative artificial intelligence?
In connection with the recent elections, a new kind of election interference has been observed in different parts of the world. For example, in September in Slovakia, a prime minister sympathetic to Russia was elected when the opponent was distorted audio tape as a victim. In Finland, Tiktok is spreading misleadingly cropped video Pekka from Haavisto and Jussi from Halla-aho.
To avoid election manipulation, we should all be vigilant now. Artificial intelligence can already be considered a real double challenge for overall safety. It is available to everyone, but few know how to use it responsibly. It challenges traditional security, but more broadly threatens the civilization of the digital age. A lazy and gullible people would be an easy target for a manipulator. Will Chat GPT replace first googling and then reading Niinistö's message?
Fact checking service Over the past year, Faktabar has been introduced to generative artificial intelligence, especially from the point of view of source criticism. We have discussed with various experts what kind of media literacy skills the new technology requires, especially from children and young people who are growing up in the media revolution.
Faktabarin was put together from these starting points Artificial Intelligence Guide, which provides background information on how to interact more securely with new AI services. It is important to be aware that texts produced by artificial intelligence may contain incorrect or invented information. They can also be used to create fakes of amazing quality. The deep fakes of videos, audio and images are a good example of this and a real threat to elections – for us and the world.
Source criticism should be done in three steps:
Stop. Learn what artificial intelligence is and isn't. Artificial intelligence services are an effective tool and assistant for many tasks. Unfortunately, they may also produce completely inaccurate information. As a test, ask Chat GPT about familiar things and evaluate to what extent it hurts. Artificial intelligence is not source-critical journalism.
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Everyone can resist influence.
Consider. When reviewing AI-generated content, ask yourself three questions:
1. Who presented or shared the claim, picture or video?
2. What evidence has been presented to support it?
3. What do other online sources say about it?
Check. You should always take a constructive critical approach to material produced by artificial intelligence and check all presented “facts” before using or sharing them. The privacy practices of artificial intelligence services do not correspond to EU privacy laws. Do not provide personal information or other confidential information to the services.
The goal is a digitally civilized and vigilant civil society. The work to achieve this is, however, well under way – also in Finland.
While it takes time to develop voters' digital literacy, the most urgent thing would be to update at least the artificial intelligence literacy of journalists. A model could be taken from Norway, where competing media houses have joined forces in fact-checking, verifying social media content and critically utilizing artificial intelligence.
Even during presidential election campaigns, you should always take a constructive critical approach to material produced by artificial intelligence and check all presented “facts” before using or sharing them.
Spring during the elections, Faktabari publishes a digital election monitor. Vaalivätti participants' machines across Finland are monitored for social media marketing logic, recommendation algorithms and other manipulative and polarizing activities. Both foreign countries and Finnish troublemakers can try to influence the elections. This should be made visible: it should be possible to catch it.
Everyone can resist influence. According to Niinistö's previous speeches: the last line of defense is between our own ears. Stop, think and check.
The author is the executive director of Faktabari, the fact-checking service that turns ten years old this year, and the chairman of the Open Society Association that supports it.
Correction 12.1. 8:11 p.m.: The article previously incorrectly wrote that a president sympathetic to Russia was elected in Slovakia. In reality, a prime minister sympathetic to Russia was elected in Slovakia.
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