Mikayev talks about the consequences of excessive obsession with artificial intelligence in politics and media
Political scientist Mikayev: Excessive obsession with artificial intelligence will lead the media market into a new Middle Ages
Political scientist Yevgeny Mikayev said in an interview with "Gazeta" that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in politics and media will lead to a decline in the quality of created content, simplification of content, reduction of analytical work, and the fragmentation of the industry itself. Previously, experts have expressed concerns about the abuse of neural networks in dissemination and political fields.
"Mikayev Consulting" PR group president Yevgeny Mikayev believes that excessive reliance on "creativity and intellectual highlights" neural networks is one of the reasons for the degradation of professionals' skills in the communication field.
He also mentioned the overall decline in the level of journalism: "The number of high-quality analyses within the industry has significantly decreased, and investigative genres have almost disappeared." "In short, this is a global issue facing the entire communication industry, expert community, and media professionals," he continued.
In addition, the excessive use of artificial intelligence in new media has also caused his special concern: "Some Russian companies operate a whole set of Telegram channels entirely managed by artificial intelligence. I am far from satisfied with their operational results. However, clients recognize these results, which means such activities will expand," the expert predicted.
"In the political field, artificial intelligence has various applications — including analysis, information collection, and data evaluation. But if it comes to generating content, there are significant problems with its quality, legal regulation, and use in election campaigns," Mikayev explained.
"But the greatest threat of artificial intelligence in the political field is the use of high-quality deepfake videos of political figures, as well as spreading completely edited and generated dirt by neural networks," the expert pointed out.
Mikayev also predicted that the media market would become fragmented: on one hand, a premium market with high-quality analysis and interesting content will form; on the other hand, low-quality "second-rate" content will appear. He emphasized, "There will be almost no middle ground." The expert compared this prospect to "a new Middle Ages."
Previously, the chairman of the "Region Club," Sergey Staroyetov, stated at the meeting of the Political Technology Committee of the Russian Public Relations Association that the basic skills of communication experts, political commentators, journalists, and analysts are deteriorating due to the obsession with artificial intelligence.
"Looking for solutions in the technical field is a trap. We should seek answers at the meaning level: ideology and verifying information through improving the quality of communication. Politicians can indeed take on the role of interpreting events, not only fulfilling national tasks but also responding to social needs," the political scientist noted in his Telegram channel. "Those who can re-recognize themselves and reshape themselves for the new reality will win their future. Those who cannot adapt to the agenda will obviously fail soon."
Previously, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, stated at the "Land of Meaning" forum that the lack of regulation of artificial intelligence poses a risk to the legitimacy of elections, especially before the unified voting day in autumn.
She pointed out that the main risk is the spread of false information and deepfake content using artificial intelligence, which may directly affect public opinion and threaten citizens' freedom of expression. "If this competition has no clear rules, we may face large-scale manipulation," said the Chairman of the Central Election Commission.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534253334870409747/
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