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SINGAPORE — Artificial intelligence (AI) may further complicate an already polarized media landscape and worsen existing divisions in society, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam warned.
In a speech at the International Conference on Cohesive Societies on Tuesday, June 24, Shanmugaratnam said the rapid development of AI may unleash a “flood of synthetic media” with questionable origins, further fueling polarization.
“Rapid advances in AI are about to set in motion further changes. AI-driven search interfaces and chatbots may very well create a flood of synthetic media of dubious provenance,” Shanmugaratnam said.
“We have to recognize that a fragmented media landscape and the rise of social media with all its pluses have negative aspects, which are now escaping through our whole political landscape around the world,” he added.
Shanmugaratnam also called on the government and civil society to work with media companies, including tech companies, to provide a “safer and more sustainable landscape for democracy.”
Regulation. He also cited the European Union's new Digital Services Act as an example of how regulation can help mitigate the systemic risks posed by digital platforms.
According to Shanmugaratnam, the law holds social media companies accountable for content, requiring the swift removal of hate speech and mandating that larger platforms reduce the amplification of disinformation.
“It's difficult, it's tricky. A lot of the onus is on the platforms themselves. But the laws are in place,” he said.
While acknowledging that such measures involve more regulation than is typically accepted and may require some sacrifice of market freedom, the Singaporean president said that a regulated media landscape is preferable to allowing society to gradually unravel.
“They have an incentive. They have an incentive for algorithms to keep people within their own platforms. And as I mentioned, they have an incentive to maximize attention through negative news,” Shanmugaratnam said.
“So this is an algorithmic treadmill. There's no easy stepping off. It can only be addressed through regulation,” he added.
According to press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, despite Singapore boasting about being an advanced city, there is "little respect for press freedom and editorial independence."
Officials in the Philippines with AI. Recently, Malacañang condemned AI-generated false information after Sen. Bato Dela Rosa and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte shared a video that turned out to be created through AI, showing students defending Vice President Sara Duterte, who is currently facing impeachment raps.
In the comments section of Dela Rosa's post, social media users quickly pointed out that the video he shared appeared to be AI-generated.
Some users even provided analyses highlighting clear indicators of artificial manipulation. These red flags included unreadable, nonsensical text on the student's polo shirt, which displayed two different logos along with garbled names of nearby street vendors and distorted tricycle plate numbers.
However, in response, Dela Rosa, who is a staunch supporter of the Dutertes, said that he still agrees with the message, regardless of how it is made.
“[S]abi ko kung AI man yan may punto ang gumawa, kung hindi yan AI may punto ang mga bata na nagsasalita,” he said.
(I said, if that’s AI, the one who made it has a point; if it’s not AI, then the kids speaking have a point.)
“Either way the point is very clear and I agree with that point. I am agreeing to the message not to the messenger. AI man yan na video or a written post still I agree with the message that it conveys,” Dela Rosa added.
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Editor's note: The trip to Singapore was hosted by Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). At no stage does the host organization have a say on the stories generated from the coverage, interviews conducted, publication date and story treatment. Content is produced solely by Philstar.com following editorial guidelines.
