In an era of information warfare, authenticity and verification are priorities

The spread of misinformation is evolving around the world at a concerning pace. Bad actors are finding new battlegrounds and frontiers every day, and information and images generated by artificial intelligence (AI) are being used to push political agendas and false narratives, to scam and steal money and identities, and even worse, lure online. AI is also evolving rapidly with risks as significant as the benefits. The French philosopher Paul Virlio said, “When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane you also invent the plane crash; and when you invent electricity, you invent electrocution… Every technology carries its own negativity, which is invented at the same time as technical progress.” Now that AI is generative, users can manipulate images and information at unprecedented speed and scale, and vast amounts of inaccurate and malicious information make it difficult for people and organizations to verify information authenticity. In today’s world, you can’t believe anything you see. As the American technology journalist Kara Swisher said, “You're not going to stop shipwrecks, but you can do things . You can create a lighthouse.” The metaphorical lighthouses needed to address the challenges we’re facing—while realizing the benefits of AI—are funding, collaboration, and urgent action to support the development, adoption, and certification of tools that verify information authenticity while protecting privacy and empowering Canadians. Governments, banks, telcos, tech companies, media organizations, and civil society must work together to deploy open, standards-based solutions and services to verify the authenticity of information. Today, solutions can include getting certified against a technology-neutral risk-and-assurance framework like the Digital Identification and Authentication Council of Canada’s Pan-Canadian Trust Framework, developed collaboratively by public and private sector experts Verifiable information authenticity relies on critical principles, including provenance and traceability. Provenance establishes the origin and history of information, ensuring it comes from a reliable source. Traceability allows auditability of the flow of information, enabling people, businesses, and governments to verify its accuracy and authenticity. These principles are essential in combating the spread of misinformation and disinformation, which can have far-reaching consequences in an AI-fueled world. Provenance and traceability are potent data authenticity tools that help: businesses and professionals reduce liabilities and meet obligations to verify information about their clients and their operations; citizens and residents interact securely and efficiently with governments; customers and clients transact with privacy and security anywhere, anytime; industries manage decision-making and securely supply chains using trusted data; producers verify essential data related to environmental, safety, and operational goals; and creators track intellectual property to ensure fair payment and cultural protection. Digital trust and verification are crucial capabilities that underpin verifiable information authenticity. Digital trust is users' confidence in digital data's reliability, integrity, privacy and security. Verification ensures that individuals, organizations, and related data are what they claim to be, preventing the spread of misinformation by malicious actors. The economic imperative of investing in these capabilities is clear. According to a study by Deloitte, the Canadian economy could unlock an additional seven per cent—or $7-trillion—in economic value through AI and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) technologies. People and organizations can only realize this potential for the good of society by investing in tools, processes, and policies that support verifying the authenticity of the information generated and processed by AI and AGI technologies. Our public safety, civic engagement, and economic prosperity depend on leveraging trusted solutions, well-established risk mitigation and certification tools, and powerful collaboration to ensure regulations set informed guardrails that put people’s benefits, protections, and agency to control data at the center of the design. The evolving AI-fueled data landscape presents unprecedented challenges and opportunities for innovation and progress. By prioritizing verifiable information authenticity and investing in digital trust, we can ensure that people and organizations realize the benefits of AGI while mitigating its risks. Our safety and prosperity depend on it. Joni Brennan is president of Digital Identification and Authentication Council of Canada. The Hill Times