Shusha hosted the Second Global Media Forum “Exposing False Narratives: Combating Disinformation”.

An essential part of the event, which included media representatives from more than 50 countries, was the meeting with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. The Head of state answered the question of the Editor-In-Chief of the Uzbekistan National News Agency, Durdona Salikhova, in detail.

– I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers for the opportunity to participate in this forum. How do you see the future of the media industry? How do you assess the role of artificial intelligence in this process?

President Ilham Aliyev:

– It will be difficult for me to compete with such venerable media representatives and say what they do not know. However, this theme has reached an entirely new level regarding artificial intelligence. Occasionally, official reports are published in competent sources in Azerbaijan. Some business projects have been announced on my behalf and have nothing to do with Azerbaijan or me. And unfortunately, many people believe this. It’s hard to say what to do with this. Not everyone who saw the fake message can read the refutation. It is challenging to detect a fake immediately. It happens that people already believe it. And in this case, we are not only talking about Azerbaijan. Manipulation by artificial intelligence can also occur in countries with nuclear weapons. There are a lot of everyday stories where irreparable damage is caused to human relationships, human dignity, and reputation. Many public figures are discredited with fake videos and visual or audio messages. The media industry must say how to deal with this, and politicians must make restrictive decisions. Because fake messages have already become a severe threat to life and the safety of society, countries, and individuals. I hope that the necessary international mechanism can be developed, and it will not be perceived as an infringement on freedom of speech. We need to unite at the level of a global organization. This could be the UN, G20, and others.

UzA