Prince Harry voiced strong concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) and social media during a recent panel discussion in Bogotá, Colombia. Speaking alongside his wife Meghan Markle and Colombia’s Vice President Francia Marquez, Harry highlighted the potential risks of AI and criticized the divisive nature of social media.
While speaking at the EAN University event, Harry said, ‘AI is scary,’ and he had concerns about what AI might bring in the future. He also pointed out the detrimental effect of social media on society since it tends to promote whatever is misconstrued instead of healthy discussions.
Sussexes embark on Colombian visit
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in Colombia on Thursday for their visit, which was extended by Vice President Marquez. Their visit entails a number of events that are meant to promote interaction with the local people and cultural experiences.
Marquez, Colombia’s first Black vice president and an ex-environmental activist, greeted the couple warmly. She thanked them for visiting her and for their attempts to solve the problems of the world, like cyber bullying and social media violence.
The Sussexes’ itinerary included a cultural performance and an engagement with young people at a school where they discussed the issue of safety on the internet. They also performed in the Petronio Álvarez festival, which is an event that showcases Afro-Colombian music and culture in Cartagena and Cali. The Sussexes’ trip to Colombia is their third overseas trip of the year after their recent tours of Nigeria and Jamaica.
AI-generated deepfakes exploit royal and political figures
Prince Harry’s statement comes as AI-imaged videos of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prince William are being used in cryptocurrency scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. As pointed out by Fenimore Harper, more than 250 ads of a platform known as ‘Immediate Edge’ have been placed since Starmer’s recent victory in early July.
According to the report, these deepfake videos have been viewed by around 890,000 people on social media. According to Llama 3.1, Meta’s large language model, Immediate Edge, has spent $27,000 on these advertisements.
Both Amazon and Microsoft said that they cannot prevent the distribution of deepfakes created by AI because that is practically impossible, and the only solution is regulation. Speaking at a parliamentary committee hearing on Friday, technology executives from these companies further said that the watermarking and tagging of AI-produced images and videos are not very useful tools in preventing the dissemination of such content.
