Hate speech, misinformation and online extremism cannot be allowed to prevent people from enjoying the freedom that cyberspace offers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an international debate on the Internet on Thursday.
“There is no question: the digital space has incredible power for good. But from misinformation about vaccines to online extremism, we have also seen the threat it can pose to our democratic values, our systems and our citizens,” he said Trudeau via video link. from Ottawa to the Paris Peace Forum.
“We cannot allow the benefits of the digital space to come at the expense of people’s rights or safety.”
The forum presents itself as an effort to revitalize global institutions and this year focuses on the enormous inequalities exposed by the pandemic.
In-person attendees included the host, French President Emmanuel Macron, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who will also attend a conference on artificial intelligence in the French capital.
Harris said the United States is committed to working with its allies to eliminate terrorist content online.
“For the United States, our approach to the digital domain is based on our democratic principles,” he said. “We will continue to advocate for an open, secure and interoperable Internet, and we will work to ensure that technology helps, not harm, the people of our world.”
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Trudeau addressed a panel on the challenges of the digital domain after co-founding a new international program last year called the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence.
He noted that Canada served as the association’s president last year and “focused on uniting the international community to ensure AI respects rights and freedoms and does not harm democratic societies.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed the meeting from Washington, where she has been holding meetings with US President Joe Biden.
Trudeau asks to clean the #cyberspace of #hate, #disinformation in the peace forum. #CDNPoli
He said the EU and the US have deepened their cooperation on how to make AI more “trustworthy” for their users.
“Without a doubt, AI is improving our lives. It can help, for example, detect cyberattacks … it can help doctors make more accurate cancer diagnoses,” said von der Leyen.
“However, for people to trust AI, we must also manage the risks.”
Before the speeches, Macron welcomed a room full of masked and physically spaced international business leaders and politicians at a high-ceilinged Parisian conference center. That included Champagne, one of two Canadian federal ministers who traveled to Europe this week, with whom the French president exchanged a lengthy handshake.
Earlier this week, Champagne told The Canadian Press that he plans to present a new digital letter after the return of parliament to address issues related to artificial intelligence and the internet-based economy.
Champagne said earlier this week that technology must take into account the protection of privacy and that the government must create an overarching framework that reflects Canadian values.
Von der Leyen told the meeting that the EU was joining France in its quest to build trust and security in cyberspace.
“Throughout the pandemic, in fact, the Internet has been a lifeline for millions of businesses and the only connection to our loved ones for many of us,” he said.
“However, cyberspace has also become a more dangerous place, with increasing threats to our critical infrastructure, our democratic processes, and even our personal health and safety, including that of our children.”
Trudeau’s live speech at the conference also highlighted another challenge that those working over the internet have had to overcome during the pandemic: a faulty connection that separates you from the people you are trying to connect with.
About three minutes after his Ottawa presentation, Trudeau’s screen froze and then blacked out.
The live moderator on stage in Paris immediately returned to the audience.
“It seems to have disappeared. Anyway, thank you very much,” he said, asking the French crowd to give the Canadian prime minister a round of applause, which they did.
“It just shows that it’s really live, and we’re not showing them pre-recorded videos.”
This Canadian Press report was first published on November 11, 2021.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com