Written evidence submitted by Policy Connect (SMH0063)

About Policy Connect

Policy Connect is a cross-party think tank. We specialise in supporting parliamentary groups, forums and commissions, delivering impactful policy research and event programmes and bringing together parliamentarians and government in collaboration with academia, business and civil society to help shape public policy in Westminster and Whitehall, so as to improve people’s lives. Our work focuses on five key policy areas: Education & Skills; Industry, Technology & Innovation; Sustainability; Health; and Assistive & Accessible Technology. 

We have responded to the questions within the consultation that are most relevant to our work, in particular, our ongoing research project, “Skills in the Age of AI” (2024-2025). Led by an independent group of Commissioners comprising of leading figures from across the technology and innovation sector, as well as industry and major political parties, the project aims to conduct research into important issues in emerging technologies and data policy.[1] In this submission we are sharing emerging findings from our Citizens Assemblies in particular, which occurred throughout April – December 2024 and are, as of writing, currently ongoing. The characteristics of the research participants can be found in Annex A. Our submission also draws on our work with Bournemouth University and their research[2] on the use of generative artificial intelligence in media creation. The research, conducted by the team at Bournemouth University, highlights the opportunities and threats of generative artificial intelligence in the creative industries within the UK, which can contribute to the creation of harmful media content that propagates misinformation and disinformation.

We would be very willing to expand on our submission’s findings in an oral evidence session for this inquiry or engage in further consultations once the report is published. 

1. To what extent do the business models of social media companies, search engines and others encourage the spread of harmful content, and contribute to wider social harms? 

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• How do social media companies and search engines use algorithms to rank content, how does this reflect their business models, and how does it play into the spread of misinformation, disinformation and harmful content? 

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• What role do generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) play in the creation and spread of misinformation, disinformation and harmful content?

Generative AI and LLMs are revolutionising the landscape of media production, including creating content that can be harmful and, in some cases, outright false. Although these technologies are not yet fully capable of producing images and content at a human-level quality, significant ethical concerns arise from their use. Generative AI tools often have access to large datasets, enabling individuals or organised actors to produce misinformation more easily, cheaply, and quickly, and to disseminate it at scale. This often floods the information space with false or misleading content. Given that information literacy is low among vulnerable groups, many people may take harmful content as fact.

Importantly, the rapid development of generative AI capabilities has not been matched by a corresponding increase in AI literacy among the wider population, resulting in an uptick in cases of people falling for misinformation and disinformation. In the Citizens’ Assemblies held as part of our ongoing research project, “Skills in the Age of AI”, participants expressed fears and concerns about AI’s ability to generate increasingly convincing outputs as reference photos become more widely available for LLMs to use. For example, participants in the Citizens’ Assemblies recalled the first iteration of text-to-image generators available to the public (such as DALL-E 2). While users could enter any prompt, the generated images were often easily identifiable as AI-produced due to bugs or errors, such as hands and fingers having unnatural details or ears missing lobes. As AI matures further, such easily discernible signs might soon be a thing of the past, meaning it is becoming increasingly harder to verify if an image was created by AI or not. For untrained individuals, it can be even more challenging to detect AI-generated material without clear signs of transparency from its creators.

This issue is compounded by disparities in AI and digital literacy between different age groups. Participants aged 40 and above who took part in the Citizens’ Assemblies demonstrated low literacy in understanding AI functions and software.

These challenges contribute to broader social harms, as was the case during the riots earlier this summer.

2. What role did social media algorithms play in the riots that took place in the UK in summer 2024? 

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3. How effective is the UK's regulatory and legislative framework on tackling these issues?

While the government’s active work in the area of artificial intelligence and its regulation is welcome, it is still not at par with the US or the EU. Currently, there is very little in the form of guidance that relates to the regulation of integrating generative AI in media production in a responsible and ethical way, in the UK.

• How effective will the Online Safety Act be in combatting harmful social media content? 

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• What more should be done to combat potentially harmful social media and AI content? 

There is a pressing need for a clear legislative framework that regulates the use of generative AI in media production, also leading to the creation of harmful content on social media. Transparency is a key solution to challenges posed by generative AI. Through Bournemouth University’s engagement with professionals in the creative industries, it is clear that a universal labelling system needed, similar to the copyright symbol. This should be designed to inform consumers whether a piece of media is AI-generated, which can foster trust and reduce the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

Stronger focus should be placed on improving education to address digital illiteracy and close the skills gap in the public regarding generative AI. The government should mandate digital literacy programs at educational institutions, these can be especially important to navigate the evolving landscape of generative AI and its use in mainstream media channels.

• What role do Ofcom, and the National Security Online Information Team play in preventing the spread of harmful and false content online?

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4. Which bodies should be held accountable for the spread of misinformation, disinformation and harmful content as a result of social media and search engines’ use of algorithms and AI?

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18 December 2024