Advances In Ai Are Compounding Internet Freedom’s Decline. But They Don’t Have To.

Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence, released yesterday, found that global internet freedom declined for the 13th consecutive year. The report details how AI is increasing the scale, speed, and efficiency of digital repression, allowing governments to enhance and refine their online censorship capabilities. Examples of this include chatbots created by Chinese companies reinforcing the Chinese Communist Party’s long-standing information controls, generative AI technology allowing Venezuelan authorities to propagate distorted information, and India’s legal framework requiring companies to proactively restrict content previously flagged by the government.