South Korea's Yoon warns of tech threat to democracy at summit

SEOUL — South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on March 18 called fake news and disinformation based on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology threats to democracy, as his country hosted a gathering of senior global officials including from UK, the European Union and the United States.

Speaking at the opening of the Summit for Democracy, Yoon said countries have a duty to share experiences and wisdom so that AI and technology can be employed to promote democracy.

Technological disparity among countries is a major challenge, he said, describing it as a root case of how some countries fall behind in economic prosperity and fail to make progress on democracy.

"Fake news and disinformation based on artificial intelligence and digital technology not only violate individual freedom and human rights but also threaten democratic systems," Yoon said.

South Korea is hosting the third Summit for Democracy conference, an initiative by US President Joe Biden aimed at discussing ways to stop democratic backsliding and the erosion of rights and freedoms.

Digital threats to democracy, and how technology can promote democracy and universal human rights, are expected to be the main agenda of the three-day meetings.

"As authoritarian and repressive regimes deploy technologies to undermine democracy and human rights, we need to ensure that technology sustains and supports democratic values and norms," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the summit.

Like-minded governments and their people are working together to promote free and fair elections, Blinken said, noting that safeguarding democracy is a collective effort.

Neither Blinken nor Yoon mentioned any countries or leaders by name.

European Commission vice-president for