EU's stamp to recognize fake news

​The problem of artificial intelligence-generated fake news is very serious, and the evolution of the new ChatGPT carries the risk of exponential growth of bad and fake information on the web. The European Union has already been active on this front for many months and recently proposed to the companies that are part of the Code of Conduct to introduce a stamp, which would make it easy to identify artificial intelligence-generated content and counteract misinformation. With the stamp, platforms will indicate content produced by artificial intelligence so that users can clearly see that it is not text or visual content created by real people.

The request was forwarded to representatives of more than forty organizations that joined the Code of Conduct against Disinformation in 2022. Among the hi-tech companies involved there are also Microsoft, Google, Meta, TikTok, and Twitch, but not Twitter, which has left the Code communicating that it will not join the initiative

The ability of the new generation of artificial intelligence chatbots to create complex content and images in seconds brings new challenges to the fight against disinformation. According to the latest report released by NewsGuard, some 50 pseudo-websites almost entirely populated with articles, written by AI software, have already been identified: fake news no longer packaged by some professional disinformation writer, but by automated systems. Usually very poor quality websites that publish huge amounts of articles (up to a hundred a day) for clickbait purposes to attract as many users as possible, and generate advertising revenue.

The problem of fake news is planetary, and it can only be addressed by working together.

Major countries and international institutions are entering into partnerships for a common strategy. At the fourth ministerial meeting of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (Ttc) held recently in Sweden, the European Union and the United States signed a joint statement affirming the need to mitigate the risks associated with the development of new technology in order to seize the potential of artificial intelligence.

"The European Union and the United States reaffirm their commitment to developing reliable and responsible AI technologies," the joint document reads. "Cooperation on our approaches is critical to promoting responsible innovation that respects rights, security and ensures that AI delivers benefits in line with our shared democratic values.

As for the stamp, it is currently unclear what form it will take and when it will be implemented. We will just have to wait for news directly from the Union.