WEF Warns of AI-Driven Disinformation as Top Threat to Global Economy

According to reports, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has highlighted the significant threat posed by artificial intelligence-driven disinformation to upcoming key elections, identifying it as the foremost short-term risk to the global economy.

In their annual global risks report, the WEF, set to convene in Davos next week, expressed apprehension about the potential disruption of politics through the dissemination of false information.

The report emphasizes that concerns over a persistent cost of living crisis, coupled with the interconnected risks of disinformation and polarized societies, will be the focal points for 2024. Notably, elections are scheduled in countries representing 60 percent of the global GDP, including the UK, the US, the EU, and India. The WEF anticipates that the relationship between manipulated information and societal unrest will take center stage during these campaigns.

Looking beyond the immediate future, the experts polled by the WEF identified extreme weather events and climate change as the most pressing risks over a 10-year period. Saadia Zahidi, a managing director of the WEF, stated, “An unstable global order characterized by polarizing narratives and insecurity, the worsening impacts of extreme weather, and economic uncertainty are causing accelerating risks – including misinformation and disinformation – to propagate.”