As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly evolves, becoming more capable and accessible than ever, AI-fueled misinformation and disinformation led a ranking of global leaders' top concerns for the next two years as the 2024 election year kicks off and geopolitical conflict persists, the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Risks Report 2024 found.

The World Economic Forum collected responses from 1,490 experts across academia, business, government, and the international community for its Global Risks Perception Survey, which considers global risks over the short and long term. Over half (53%) of respondents said that they believe AI-generated misinformation and disinformation are among the risks most likely to present a "material crisis" in the short term. The WEF noted that "misinformation and disinformation has risen rapidly in rankings to first place for the two-year time frame," ahead of risks like extreme weather events and interstate armed conflict, adding that the risk is "likely to become more acute as elections in several economies take place this year."

In a "record-breaking" election year, voters in 77 countries will take to the polls, accounting for roughly half of the global population and nearly 60% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), according to J.P. Morgan research.

While the growing accessibility of AI technology is expected to have positive impacts such as boosting productivity and economic growth, it could also make it easier to create and spread harmful misinformation and disinformation.

"No longer requiring a niche skill set, easy-to-use interfaces to large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) models have already enabled an explosion in falsified information and so-called ‘synthetic’ content, from sophisticated voice cloning to counterfeit websites," the WEF report said, warning that the "new tech brings new threats to democratic processes, as the greater use of AI and social media could influence campaigns." The WEF also noted that the misinformation and disinformation risk can be interconnected with other global issues including societal polarization, the erosion of human rights, armed conflict, and violence, among others. In the longer term, AI-related risks still featured among respondent's top concerns for the next 10 years. However, they ranked lower compared to other concerns, with misinformation and disinformation placing fifth, followed by adverse outcomes of AI technologies in sixth place.

The report's recommendations for global leaders included "focusing global cooperation on rapidly building guardrails for the most disruptive emerging risks, such as agreements addressing the integration of AI in conflict decision-making" through cross-border cooperation in the public and private sector as well as digital literacy campaigns focused on misinformation and disinformation.