AI creating false stories about World War II, Holocaust: UNESCO

UNESCO warns of AI-generated Holocaust denial, calls for ethical safeguards and education to combat anti-Semitism and historical distortions.

AI technology is helping to create false stories about World War II atrocities including Holocaust denial, risking an "explosive spread of anti-Semitism", the U.N. warned on June 18.

The U.N.'s education and culture body UNESCO called for governments and tech companies to introduce ethical safeguards around AI technology, and for schools to spread the word about the risks of AI-generated content.

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UNESCO's report highlighted instances where hackers had rigged chatbots to spread Nazi ideology and others where bots dreamt up their own stories around the Holocaust.

"If we allow the horrific facts of the Holocaust to be diluted, distorted or falsified through the irresponsible use of AI, we risk the explosive spread of anti-Semitism," said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's director-general.

She said it could also lead to the "gradual diminution of our understanding about the causes and consequences of these atrocities".

AI tools that generate content — such as ChatGPT and DALLE-2 — exploded onto the scene in 2022.