AI chatbots giving misleading voting advice in run-up to election Source: BBC News

 

Concern regarding AI are being raised almost every day.  Misinformation generated from some AI chatbots range from the creation of sexual images of children for distribution online to providing misleading or even dangerous information which may cause children to do things they normally would not do or believe. We have seen such things in news items across the world.

This story illustrates one way errors in AI algorithms can threaten democracy. We know that the use of personal data had major impacts on the outcomes of Brexit in the UK and US presidential elections. AI can deal with huge amounts of data and tailor messages and information to shape thinking. This is potentially very dangerous.

As AI becomes ever more powerful and pursuasive the level of threat increases and we need to do everything we can to encourage children to question what they hear and what they read. 

Read the full story here. 

 

 

Story:Life Tech - Chatbots changing minds Source: BBC World Service Sounds

 

 

A study found AI chatbots can persuade us with fake facts. The BBC podcast team explore what this means for politics. 

This is part of a three item podcast but raises some vey important issues. Chat bots are of growing interest with the young. They are often none judgmental and therefore appeal to vulnerable children and adults.

In other stories we in this blog we have presented other stories about the potential power of chatbots for human interaction but it is obviously inportant to hold onto the reality that these chatbots are AI generated responses.

This podcast raises the potential impact of fake information on election outcomes.

Listen to the podcast here.

 

 

Story:Two men jailed for horrific online sexual exploitation of children in legal first as CPS tackles Violence Against Women and Girls Source: Crown Prosecution Service

 

 

This report from the Crown Prosecution Service referrs to the case involving two girls as young as 16, who made complaints to separate police forces across the UK. It demonstrates the growing complexity of technology-facilitated child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The abuse took place  through online chat rooms, as they exploited and preyed upon young girls from different parts of the UK.  The shared illegal indecent images of them and encouraging them to commit acts of self-harm. 

The chair of The Cyber Trust was asked for his opinion and said, “This case underlines the need for comprehensive Cyber Security advice and education in particular for vulnerable young people and their parents so that they all may access online information safely and appropriately.  In this case, we can see the dangers of online chat rooms through exploitation by people that try and get in contact with users of such spaces for criminal purposes.”

The Cyber Trust's Family Internet Monitoring Project may become part of the solution to this sort of crime by ensureing that parents are aware of their children's involvement with people online and can intervene to protect them when required.

Read the full report here.