Artificial intelligence may assist enemies
The risk that Russia and other countries negatively inclined towards Latvia may attempt to influence the upcoming elections to the Saeima this autumn is increasing, using increasingly broad influence campaigns and artificial intelligence capabilities, said Janis Sarts, director of NATO's Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, at a meeting of the Council for the Implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Cabinet of Ministers and non-governmental organizations.
J. Sarts noted that the nature of foreign influence operations is changing - they are becoming cheaper, more widespread, and technologically advanced, thereby increasing risks for Latvia as well. "If influence operations were previously a form of craftsmanship, now we see industrialization," emphasized J. Sarts.
He explained that artificial intelligence is increasingly being used both for mass content generation and for developing fake profiles and automated "negotiators" capable of looking and behaving like real people. A particularly concerning trend is the infiltration of such accounts into small interest communities and discussion groups, where they can attempt to take over the dynamics of negotiations and steer discussions in a certain direction by spreading narratives favorable to them.
J. Sarts warned that it is important to be able to recognize and prevent manipulations in a timely manner - trust in society is crucial in the electoral process. Institutions, upon identifying potentially manipulative content, must verify it immediately and, if necessary, use appropriate legal tools. "Our systems and society must be able to see and act in real-time," noted J. Sarts.
Director of the State Chancellery Raivis Kronbergs emphasized that Latvia has already begun coordinated preparations to strengthen resilience to external threats during the Saeima elections: "Public administration takes this risk seriously and is enhancing readiness to timely identify and mitigate threats, including improving inter-agency cooperation and involving experts. Non-governmental organizations also play an important role in this process." By a Cabinet of Ministers decree, a cooperation format has been established to prevent potential security threats to the democratic and fair conduct of the Saeima elections. Representatives from the State Chancellery, the Central Election Commission, the State Agency for Digital Development, the Bureau for Prevention and Combating Corruption, the State Police, the Consumer Rights Protection Centre, and other structures will work in the group. The first working meeting of the group will take place in early February.
