During a speech on disinformation at Stanford University, the former president of the United States, Barack Obama, unceremoniously pointed out that the “modern landscape of the Internet is one of the main reasons for the weakening of democracy”, even that “is fueling some of the worst impulses of humanity”. democracy.
“Not all of these effects are intentional or even avoidable, they are simply a consequence of billions of humans suddenly being connected to a flow of instantaneous global information the 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Obama said.
Obama emphasized that the current problems are not only part of the inevitable result of this new technology: “ They are also the result of very specific choices made It’s for the companies that have come to dominate the internet in general and social media platforms in particular. Not all the problems we are experiencing now are an inevitable by-product of this new technology”.
Regarding the optimization that different media have begun to use, he also believes that it will affect society, and it is that according to Obama “I am convinced that the trends we are experiencing will worsen” since Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more sophisticated every day and that the only thing that will cause is that it is more difficult to detect misinformation.
Michelle’s husband also indicated that technology has changed drastically in recent years, which is why a reform to section 230 should be considered, but not a repeal of said law, since he doesn’t think that’s the answer to the problems.
“In a democracy we can rightly expect companies to subject the design of their products and services to some level of scrutiny. At a minimum, they should have to share that information with investigators and regulators who are in charge of keeping the rest of us safe,” he explained.
The former president shared with his listeners an example of the importance of information management: “If a meatpacking company has a patented technique to keep our sausages fresh and clean, it does not have to reveal to the world what the technique is.”
Example you want to leave with clear that technology companies should be able to protect their intellectual property while achieving certain security standards that every American citizen needs.