Nancy Pelosi appears under the influence of alcohol during a speech

The previous statement is false, however, it shows us how plausible the creations made by Generative IA are, and how easily we can be influenced. The rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence can be beneficial, but it also entails numerous risks, as seen with the manipulated video of Pelosi. This post will try to raise awareness of the reality of AI, including its implications for current global governance, and the necessity to regulate it internationally.

Generative AI is able to perform better than us, and despite being a game changer in politics and society, this is just the beginning. What makes this different from previous tech advancements is its capacity to alter the balance of power and the very states themselves. The creators of AI function as geopolitical actors, which makes the term “technopolar” meaningful, especially if considering the exertion of power of tech companies and their role as sovereign entities. AI only hastens this, that is why it is essential for governments to run and approach the issue, or it may be too late. The problem is that it is not easy, and the main hurdle is to develop a political structure suitable for this type of technological advancements. In order to achieve so, a suitable measure could be to include the tech-companies in negotiations. Another challenge of AI comes from its two-fold application, on the one hand to the general public, but on the other, to the military sector. As Bremmer & Suleyman state, “the same systems that drive cars can drive tanks.” So, once it is spread, it is really difficult to limit, hence the importance of regulations (Bremmer & Suleyman, 2023). This is also significant if we consider the risks of AI, such as jobs’ destruction, so it is imperative to tackle urgent matters like poverty, safeguard of human rights and social issues worsened by the appearance of AI (Rosales, 2024).

To stop it is not an option also because of its usefulness: to control citizens, economic and military profit… is an objective of the states. However, those states are only the minority, the ones with enough resources to go for that type of technology, while the ones with not enough money or with lack of the necessary tools to compete, will have to rely on others, deepening the disparities (North vs South). This connects really well IR with Realism, as the most important players in the race for AI are China and the US, both seeing the scene as a zero-sum game. Although it is true that governments have introduced regulatory measures for technologies, these efforts have been slow compared to the pace of AI. Consequently, for the foreseeable future, the trajectory of AI will be primarily shaped by private business rather than government actions. If any type of world governance in AI is aimed to work or endure, it is necessary that it has the same characteristics as what it tries to regulate, that is, innovative, and its principal goal should be to reduce the menaces of AI saving its innovation (Bremmer & Suleyman, 2023). In this sense, transparency is of utmost importance in tackling risks, as happens with addictive design in social media or on how to monetize data and what governments and platforms do with it (Rosales, 2024).

In addition, the added challenge of Artificial Intelligence is the creation of Deepfakes (Tshilidzi, 2023), a term we have been recently introduced to, which essentially concerns videos/audios of people in which they have been artificially altered, often done with malicious intentions (Oxford Languages). The creation of this type of content is terribly dangerous, given that, as AI progresses, it will be almost impossible to spot these videos and to differentiate them from reality. Concerning the political sphere, this is extremely risky, as deepfakes can be used with a malevolent agenda to manipulate and alter the opinion of the population, and this exactly has happened before, for instance, in a video of Nancy Pelosi in 2019. 

Precisely this issue is what raises the question of the ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence since it can be used by anyone, and with evil intentions. It is obvious that the development and employment of AI cannot, and will not be stopped, and it really does not have to, considering the huge potential to assist us that it entails. However, there is an urgent need to regulate it by following exceptionally strict ethical and moral guidelines, and the best way to do this is by global cooperation, as this is a worldwide issue that has no borders. In this context, international agreements that regulate the issue are profoundly needed so that AI can be thoroughly observed, and we as a society can benefit from it in a healthy and secure way (Tshilidzi, 2023).