The Lens: Governments need to strike the right balance between leveraging benefits and mitigating risks of AI

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) by any government or politician raises many ethical concerns, including the potential for deception.

New York City mayor Eric Adams recently used AI to make robocalls, sending out messages in different languages using his actual voice. The fact that he does not actually speak those languages and failed to disclose this information could be seen as misleading to city residents and raises questions about transparency and honesty in government communication.

Another ethical concern is the potential for manipulation and misuse of AI-generated content. Deepfake technology, which can create realistic synthetic media, has the potential to deceive or manipulate people. If the government used AI to create or distribute misleading information, it could undermine people’s trust.

Privacy is another important ethical consideration. The use of AI often involves processing and analysing large amounts of personal data. Governments must ensure that all the appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the security of individuals’ data, and that they initially obtain the data in an ethical way.

Fairness and bias are some additional ethical concerns. AI systems tend to reflect and perpetuate biases present in the data they are trained on. This can lead to discriminatory outcomes or reinforce existing inequalities. Governments must be cautious to ensure that AI applications are designed and implemented in a fair and unbiased manner.

In conclusion, the use of AI by governments presents a range of issues related to transparency, honesty, privacy, fairness and bias. The ability to strike the right balance between leveraging AI’s potential benefits and mitigating risks is crucial for fostering trust and accountability.

Read the original article in last week’s The Lens

A joint declaration has been signed between nine nations from Asia and South America to save river dolphins from extinction.

The document was signed between Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Nepal and Venezuela.

Pakistan and Peru also joined the declaration, but did not want to officially sign the document until the coming weeks.

The countries will improve water quality in the dolphins’ habitat, create protected areas, tackle overfishing and involve indigenous communities in protecting the animals.

“This historic declaration creates a road map for the recovery of river dolphin populations across the globe – offering real hope for the survival of these iconic species despite the enormous threats they face,” said Stuart Orr of the conservation organisation World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

“But this declaration is also about enhancing the health of their great rivers, which are the lifeblood of so many communities and economies, as well as sustaining critical ecosystems from rainforests to deltas.”

The WWF says the global population of freshwater dolphins has declined by 73 per cent since the 1980s.

Currently, six different species still live in rivers like the Amazon and the Orinoco in South America or the Ganges and the Mekong in Asia.

Recently, over 150 dolphins died in the Brazilian Amazon, according to the WWF. Scientists assumed heat and drought may have triggered the mass die-off.

dpa

• Do you know the animal in the photo? Why is it considered endangered?

• Do you think the agreement can help protect the animal from extinction? What more can be done to help?