RSA | Misinformation is a threat to democracies worldwide | RSA JOURNAL Presents @rsaorg | Uploaded June 2024 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Audrey Tang is Taiwan’s first Digital Minister and champion of the ‘Taiwan Model’ – a playbook for using safe, sustainable and citizen-led AI to revitalise societies worldwide.
“Global economic and security instability is placing our free and open societies under tremendous pressure. Extremism, isolation, polarisation and populism — amplified by social media and the 24/7 news cycle — are reshaping the geopolitical landscape in ways favourable to authoritarian regimes,” writes Tang.
“With India and the US, the world’s largest democracy and economy, respectively, going to the polls in 2024 — along with nearly 40 other countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan — there is not a moment to waste in recognising the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) in amplifying election-related risks via deepfake videos, echo chambers, micro-targeting and undermining information integrity. Indeed, these tools and tactics are already being used in attempts to sway opinions and create confusion.”
As Digital Minister, Tang worked alongside The Ministry of Digital Affairs, or ‘the moda’, and other Taiwan ministries and agencies, to heighten vigilance against cyberthreats and misinformation.
“Stable operation of critical infrastructure and key websites was ensured by the moda through drills and tests, safeguarding systems and establishing a 24/7 rapid response team. Each distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack was logged, analysed and acted upon. This approach, complemented by frontline monitoring, proved effective, as evidenced by the 22% drop in DDoS incidents compared to 2022.”
Other tactics, such as anticipatory debunking, or prebunking, verified phone numbers and collaborative fact checking have also been key in Taiwan’s fight to restore faith in our democratic institutions.
Learn more about Audrey Tang and the Taiwan Model here:
thersa.org/rsa-journal/2024/issue-2/features/democracy-in-the-age-of-ai
Explore Issue 2 of RSA Journal: thersa.org/journals
Check out Plurality, Audrey Tang’s most recent project, detailing how she and her collaborators – architects of Taiwan’s internationally acclaimed digital democracy – achieved inclusive, technology-fueled growth that harnesses digital tools to strengthen both social unity and diversity:
plurality.net
#RSAJournal #AudreyTang #DigitalDemocracy #AI #Governance
Follow Audrey Tang:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tangaudrey
Instagram: @digitalminister.one
Threads: @digitalminister.one
X: @audreyt
Interview audio courtesy of Your Undivided Attention, a podcast by the Center for Humane Technology
Subscribe to Your Undivided Attention:
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Illustrator: Nat Wood
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/natwoodmotion
Instagram: @natwoodmotion
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Audrey Tang is Taiwan’s first Digital Minister and champion of the ‘Taiwan Model’ – a playbook for using safe, sustainable and citizen-led AI to revitalise societies worldwide.
“Global economic and security instability is placing our free and open societies under tremendous pressure. Extremism, isolation, polarisation and populism — amplified by social media and the 24/7 news cycle — are reshaping the geopolitical landscape in ways favourable to authoritarian regimes,” writes Tang.
“With India and the US, the world’s largest democracy and economy, respectively, going to the polls in 2024 — along with nearly 40 other countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan — there is not a moment to waste in recognising the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) in amplifying election-related risks via deepfake videos, echo chambers, micro-targeting and undermining information integrity. Indeed, these tools and tactics are already being used in attempts to sway opinions and create confusion.”
As Digital Minister, Tang worked alongside The Ministry of Digital Affairs, or ‘the moda’, and other Taiwan ministries and agencies, to heighten vigilance against cyberthreats and misinformation.
“Stable operation of critical infrastructure and key websites was ensured by the moda through drills and tests, safeguarding systems and establishing a 24/7 rapid response team. Each distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack was logged, analysed and acted upon. This approach, complemented by frontline monitoring, proved effective, as evidenced by the 22% drop in DDoS incidents compared to 2022.”
Other tactics, such as anticipatory debunking, or prebunking, verified phone numbers and collaborative fact checking have also been key in Taiwan’s fight to restore faith in our democratic institutions.
Learn more about Audrey Tang and the Taiwan Model here:
thersa.org/rsa-journal/2024/issue-2/features/democracy-in-the-age-of-ai
Explore Issue 2 of RSA Journal: thersa.org/journals
Check out Plurality, Audrey Tang’s most recent project, detailing how she and her collaborators – architects of Taiwan’s internationally acclaimed digital democracy – achieved inclusive, technology-fueled growth that harnesses digital tools to strengthen both social unity and diversity:
plurality.net
#RSAJournal #AudreyTang #DigitalDemocracy #AI #Governance
Follow Audrey Tang:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tangaudrey
Instagram: @digitalminister.one
Threads: @digitalminister.one
X: @audreyt
Interview audio courtesy of Your Undivided Attention, a podcast by the Center for Humane Technology
Subscribe to Your Undivided Attention:
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-undivided-attention/id1460030305
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4KI3PtZaWJbAWK89vgttoU
Follow the Center for Humane Technology: facebook.com/humanetechnology
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-center-for-humane-technology
Facebook: facebook.com/humanetechnology
X: @HumaneTech_
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCFECM-p3CF81Tp_l2sJsiyg
Illustrator: Nat Wood
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/natwoodmotion
Instagram: @natwoodmotion
Subscribe to our channel!
Follow the RSA on Instagram: instagram.com/thersaorg
Follow the RSA on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thersaorg
Follow the RSA on Facebook: facebook.com/theRSAorg/?locale=en_GB
Follow the RSA on Threads: threads.net/@thersaorg?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
Follow the RSA on Twitter: twitter.com/theRSAorg
