The WEF’s “Global Risks Report 2024,” released today this Wednesday, has garnered a lot of attention as it warns about the increasing risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in disrupting outcomes in the upcoming year’s elections. The report, which surveyed over 1,400 global risk experts, policymakers, and industry leaders, ranked AI-derived misinformation and disinformation as well as its implications for societal polarization as top risks over the next two years.
Carolina Klint, the chief commercial officer for Europe at consultancy Marsh McLennan, emphasized the potential for AI to influence large populations of voters in unprecedented ways. Klint stressed the importance of understanding and monitoring these developments in the lead-up to the elections.
Looking ahead, the report also highlighted concerns about extreme weather conditions and critical changes to the political world order over the next decade. Saadia Zahidi, the WEF’s managing director, called for greater global cooperation and the building of guardrails to address these disruptive emerging risks.
The report emphasized that an unstable global order characterized by polarizing narratives and insecurity is contributing to accelerating risks, including misinformation and disinformation. World leaders were urged to address short-term crises while laying the groundwork for a more resilient, sustainable, inclusive future.
The report’s findings have added significance as global leaders are set to meet next week in Davos, Switzerland for WEF’s annual summit. Additionally, the world is embarking on a historic year of elections, with many countries, including the US, India, Russia, South Africa, and Mexico, facing elections in the near future.
Separately, a 2024 global risks report released by Eurasia Group named the upcoming U.S. election as its top risk for the year, with “ungoverned AI” also ranking among the top five risks. Ian Bremmer, the president and founder of Eurasia Group, underscored the far-reaching impact of the upcoming elections, leading to the firm’s decision to prioritize it as a critical risk to watch.
The concerns outlined in these reports reflect growing anxieties over the potential influence of AI in shaping major global events, signaling the need for closer scrutiny of its impact in the years to come.