Philosopher Mark Kogelberg has warned that AI is a powerful tool for manipulating votes.

Summary
Belgian philosopher Marc Kogelberg talks about the ethical and political risks posed by artificial intelligence and its participation in the Brazilian events.

A Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology is affecting society in many ways, from how we deal with it to how we approach ethical issues. But, above all, is AI a threat or a powerful tool for productivity?

oh Belgian philosopher Marc KogelbergOne of the leading thinkers on AI today, he was in Brazil this week, where he took part in an acclaimed International Literature Festival (FLIP) titled “Why AI Undermines Democracy and What to Do About It.”

In an interview with Byte Before participating in the discussion promoted by CGI.brKogelberg talked about how technology will change productivity, jobs, democracy and the effects on elections.

At the CGI.br event in São Paulo, the philosopher gave an overview of the ethical issues arising from the advancement of AI and other issues related to the topic. Watch the interview below:

Byte: The advancement of artificial intelligence has raised concerns about its impact on democracy, particularly in relation to data manipulation and fake news. How do you see the role of AI in protecting or threatening democracy?

mark: There are at least two types of problems. One, for me, democracy is not only about voting but also about having certain principles like freedom and justice. These principles are fundamental to democracy, and the problem is that AI can undermine them.

For example, when it is used for surveillance and oppression, when it is used to perpetuate bias and discrimination in society.

The second thing is that democracy requires knowledge. Citizens should have knowledge. You need more expertise in democracy. If you have a democracy without experts, you have a kind of populist system, but it is not a proper democracy.

Because once you have this populist system, it can easily turn into a dictatorship of the majority or the masses. So I think what we really need is a rich form of democracy.

AI interferes with this because it can create misinformation, and polarize and place people in cognitive bubbles, that is, everyone lives in their own world of knowledge, uninterested in the opinions of others.

The ideal of democracy that I defend in my book is one in which people not only listen to each other, discuss and vote on the common good, but actually participate in decision-making. This only works if there is a knowledge base.

If AI creates these events, it will become difficult. People can no longer distinguish between truth and falsehood, they are confused in terms of knowledge and democracy does not work. These are the dangers.

Byte: Do you think this is a big concern during elections? Because we are now facing elections in Brazil, and the use of artificial intelligence in campaigns and fake news is a constant debate.

Mark: In my book I rightly show that democracy is not just about voting, but the immediate issue is elections. We're in an election year, and we've already seen it Cambridge Analytica, We have the potential to use AI combined with social media data to manipulate people and try to influence their voting behavior.

This has been done with propaganda in the past, but now the scale is massive. You can influence people all over the world and you can do it very quickly.

We now have AI as a powerful tool for both campaigning and vote manipulation. It could happen, and different parties across the political spectrum could use this technology.

When I wrote the book, I saw that there were many right-wing and far-right populist movements, not only in America and Brazil, but also in Europe. I was very worried about dictatorship and dictatorship.

Byte: In your studies you will explore the ethics of artificial intelligence. What are the major ethical challenges we face today and what can be done about them?

mark: Many other known problems have not yet been adequately addressed. For example, responsibility: If you automate things, what is the human role? Is man responsible if something goes wrong?

How can this be done when a machine is completely autonomous? Can man be more guilty? Should we have machines so autonomous that it seems strange to blame humans? We haven't talked about it yet, but it may become more important as we delegate more.

Byte: AI is already changing productivity at work and is also raising concerns about unemployment and the replacement of humans by machines. What are possible solutions to ensure benefits to workers rather than changing technology? And should some professionals be concerned?

Mark: Yes, I think many industries should be concerned about this. Because what's the difference with the kind of AI we have now with these big language models? They can make text and speak, right? Therefore, there are many careers such as administrative work, support roles and even the legal sector. Also commercial activities, supermarkets etc.

And the news is that this technology threatens not only so-called blue-collar jobs, but white-collar jobs as well. So, the jobs you need to write.

I truly believe that the solution is to use AI to improve people's work rather than replace them. Even in the creative industries. But that means we need more human intelligence to use AI intelligently. This brings me back to education.

I think we should definitely use it as a tool and enjoy what it can do, but be aware of the limitations.

Many people are unaware of this and treat AI as a kind of oracle, always telling the truth or writing it for them instead of letting it be written. That's not the way AI should be used.

I don't think we should have a pessimistic view of AI. I think AI can be a very useful tool, and there are opportunities. Some people are very negative about it, but I think we need to give AI a place and integrate it into our lives, we are still learning to integrate cell phones into our lives and always be online.

Byte: What can people expect from your book and the events in Brazil this week?

I think the public is interested in more discussions and information about AI and what it can do, the ethical issues and the political issues involved. I am happy to stimulate this discussion.

AI already plays an important role in our society, so I think we need public discussions about the ethical and political implications of AI.

In my opinion, we should do this in a democratic way, not let experts tell us what to do, but encourage debate.

Of course, I'm an expert on AI ethics, but I see my role more as asking questions and helping to stimulate discussion. This is what people can expect.