VOA新闻杂志2024--WEF: Misinformation, Weather Top Worldwide Risks

WEF: Misinformation, Weather Top Worldwide Risks

A report from the World Economic Forum¹ says misinformation and disinformation are the most severe risks facing the world over the next two years.

The group released its latest Global Risks Report Wednesday.

The report said artificial intelligence (AI) can increase false or misleading information and is an immediate² risk to the worldwide economy. The World Economic Forum (WEF) report warned that bad information threatens to weaken democracy and polarize groups of people.

The report is based on a survey of nearly 1,500 experts, industry leaders, and politicians. It is being released before the yearly WEF meeting in the vacation town of Davos, Switzerland.

The writers are concerned that the fast progress of AI technology like ChatGPT might mean that groups can be manipulated⁴ by people without any specialized⁵ skills.

AI will be discussed next week at the Davos meeting. Technology company leaders including OpenAI chief Sam Altman, Microsoft head Satya Nadella, and industry experts like Meta's chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, are expected to attend.

The report says misinformation and disinformation that is created using AI is becoming a risk just as billions of people in several countries are going to vote this year and next year. Those countries include the United States, Britain, Indonesia, India, Mexico, and Pakistan.

Carolina Klint is a risk expert at Marsh⁶, whose parent company Marsh McLennan co-wrote the report with Zurich Insurance Group. She said people can use AI to make deepfakes and to really affect large groups "...which really drives misinformation."

Deepfakes are videos that contain realistic images which are false and show people doing and saying things that never happened.

"Societies could become further polarized" as people find it harder to tell what is true, she said. False information also could be used to fuel questions about whether governments are elected fairly. Klint said, that "... means that democratic processes could be eroded⁸, and it would also drive societal polarization even further."

The rise of AI brings other risks, she said. It could give power to harmful actors by making it easier to carry out online attacks.

Klint said with AI, a person does not need to be intelligent to become a harmful actor.

It can even affect data that is taken from the internet to develop other AI systems. She said this is difficult to correct and could result in further bias⁹ in AI systems.

The report said extreme weather is the second most worrying short term risk.

The report also said that, over the next 10 years, extreme weather events were more important than misinformation and disinformation. Weather was followed by environmental risks that include changes to the Earth's systems; loss of wildlife and collapse¹⁰ of natural systems; and shortages¹¹ of natural resources.

Words in This Story

polarize – v. to cause (people or opinions) to separate into opposing groups

survey –n. a kind of study in which a group of people are asked their opinions about a subject

manipulate³ – v. to deal with or control (someone or something) in a clever and usually unfair or selfish way

society – n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values

erode⁷ – v. to gradually destroy something or make it weaker over a period of time; to be destroyed or made weaker in this way

bias – n. a tendency to support one side of an argument over another

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 manipulate   

vt.操纵，控制，影响，（熟练地）使用

参考例句：

• Primitive man quickly learned how to manipulate tools.原始人很快就学会了使用工具。
• Do you know how to manipulate a computer?你知道如何使用计算机吗？

4 manipulated   

熟练控制[操作]( manipulate的过去式和过去分词 )； （暗中）控制，操纵，影响； 正骨； 治疗脱臼

参考例句：

• The manipulated do not understand them; the manipulators fear them. 受人摆布者不理解他们，摆布别人者害怕他们。
• They were mere puppets manipulated by other men. 他们只不过是受人操纵的傀儡而已。

5 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

6 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

7 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

8 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

9 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件