Challenges facing leaders around the world have been exacerbated by the technology available to those seeking to harm, said Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of State.
At the Arab Media Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, she said such issues included the rapid spread of fake news and misinformation, which were treated as genuine security threats during the Iran war.
“There were two [kinds of] strikes [when Iran attacked] … from the sky and behind our screens,” she said “We treat fake news and misinformation as a security threat.”
She referred to a report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018 that said false news stories were 70 per cent more likely to be posted on social media than accurate reports, and warned this could be exacerbated with the rise of artificial intelligence.
“Imagine that situation now with AI being able to fabricate news,” Ms Al Kaabi said. “We must have a quick reaction and be able to deliver true news through verified channels.”
Ms Al Kaabi also pointed to the growing role of young people and the platforms they use, saying the region's youth should be empowered to shape its narrative.
The National last year revealed how Iran has ambitions to use AI in its armed forces and security apparatus.
Social media sites have hinted at a crackdown. Nikita Bier, the head of product at X, said in March that people who post unlabelled AI content could be blocked from earning money on the site for 90 days. A supervisory board for Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, urged the company to set new rules on “deceptive AI” during conflicts. Meta said it agreed with the board's findings.
Gulf countries under attack from Iran since late February have repeatedly warned residents to stick to official sources and not share footage of missile interceptions.
The UAE's Attorney General, Dr Hamad Al Shamsi, cautioned the public against taking or sharing images of Iranian attacks in the early days of the conflict.
He said there was a risk of causing panic and presenting a false impression of the country's situation. In some cases, he added, breaching those rules could lead to prosecution.
There was also a risk that unverified clips or images could have been manipulated, by artificial intelligence in some cases, to show something that did not actually occur. Spreading such images or clips was a criminal offence, Dr Al Shamsi said.
