(São Paulo) G20 leaders agreed Friday to join forces to combat misinformation and set an agenda on artificial intelligence.
They met this week in Maceió, Brazil, and highlighted in a statement the need for digital platforms to be transparent and “compliant with relevant policies and applicable legal frameworks,” as governments grapple with the scale and reach of online misinformation and hate speech.
This is the first time in history that the G20 has acknowledged the problem of misinformation and called for transparency and accountability regarding digital platforms, Joao Brandt, Brazil’s minister of digital policy, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
G20 representatives also agreed to set guidelines for the development of AI, calling for “ethical, transparent and responsible use” under human oversight and in compliance with privacy laws and fundamental rights.
“We hope that this will be mentioned in the leaders’ declaration and that South Africa will continue to work,” said Renata Meili, an adviser to Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The G20 leaders’ summit is scheduled for November in Rio de Janeiro.
MI Some countries, including China and the United States, disagree, said Mele, the Brazilian negotiator on the AI working group, but declined to elaborate. Ultimately, she said, the consensus was that the world’s richest countries should work together to reduce global disparities in AI development.
This week's meeting came a day after social network X was banned in Brazil, ordered by Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes after a months-long dispute with its owner Elon Musk.
Since last year, the billionaire has been at odds with Mr. de Moraes because he has been reluctant to block some users, particularly right-wing activists accused of undermining Brazilian democracy. Elon Musk has called the Brazilian judge a dictator and a tyrant following rulings he made against his companies in Brazil.
Brazil currently holds the presidency of the G20, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has put issues that matter to developing countries—such as reducing inequality and reforming multilateral institutions—at the heart of his agenda.
