Beijing did a test run in Taiwan using AI-generated content to influence voters away from a pro-sovereignty candidate
China will attempt to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India this year with artificial intelligence-generated content after making a dry run with the presidential poll in Taiwan, Microsoft has warned.
The US tech firm said it expected Chinese state-backed cyber groups to target high-profile elections in 2024, with North Korea also involved, according to a report by the company’s threat intelligence team published on Friday.
“As populations in India, South Korea and the United States head to the polls, we are likely to see Chinese cyber and influence actors, and to some extent North Korean cyber actors, work toward targeting these elections,” the report reads.
Microsoft said that “at a minimum” China will create and distribute through social media AI-generated content that “benefits their positions in these high-profile elections”.
There are a lot of Americans who think they understand China really well, but I’m not sure they do.
“Nation seeks to weaken rival” isn’t very difficult to process. Or are you referring to people with a romanticized view of China?
Rival for what? Should we all just assume that every country is in a competition for global supremacy, that China must necessarily be trying to usurp the US as the dominant global superpower. I think it’s entirely possible that China’s ultimate goal isn’t world domination. I don’t claim to know what their ultimate goal is, but that’s my point: a lot of other Americans do claim to know.
I think it’s safest to assume that the other large superpower investing in basically everything, that has stated its goal of hegemony, is working towards that goal.
Or we could just say “Nah they probably don’t want worldwide influence and power as the U.S.s wanes.” like naive kids that don’t understand realpolitik.
Interesting side note: I actually went to a big Chinese-themed lantern festival last night that I’m sure was at least partially underwritten by China.
China has a stated goal of global hegemony? What kind of hegemony? Cultural, ethnic, political? Is that also the stated goal of the US? Because, if so, I as an American do not support that, especially if hegemony is to be achieved through force.
Ask Taiwan, eastern Russia, and the entire continent of Africa what kind of hegemony.
I never said the U.S. isn’t a hegemony, just that China has those same goals and to assume altruism is naive at best.
Who said anything about altruism? I don’t think altruism or hegemony are the only two possibilities, as though every country must be either a master or a slave. A country can pursue its own interests, provide for its people, defend its borders and sovereignty without necessarily also pursuing global dominance.
Hypothetically? Sure.
Let me ask you a question, do you think China does or doesn’t want to be a Superpower?
Be honest with yourself and there’s your answer to their motivations.
Democracy tends to spread as an idea. Freedom feels good and just so happens to, for the most part, bring nations socially, and economically, closer to the US. So to directly answer your question: rival political structure, rival military, rival economy, rival social structure, etc… I promised myself I wouldn’t engage in long winded political discussions on lemmy so I’ll cut it off there.
This part I’d agree with
This part, much less so. The US has a pretty bad history of overthrowing democratically elected leaders and replacing them with US business friendly politicians, whether through hijacking the legal process as with delaying President Lula, or by backing a coup as with Pinochet.
Given the context of this conversation, I should probably note that I don’t support China taking over Taiwan, or meddling with our elections to sow instability either. I’m just challenging the point that the US is friendly to democracy - which has also had bad influence on European democracy (where I am).
I really can’t say that I care enough to flit through my memories of my 101s but the soft political pressure exerted by democracy is powerful.
a chart displaying how frequently the US interacts with a nation.
a history of US military and political actions in other nations
Many countries where the US has exerted serious military power like Japan, Germany, and South Korea are now some of the strongest democracies in the world.
It’s not so straightforward like that. Many countries like Afganistan, Iraq, Vietnam are still reeling from Direct American meddling. I could sit here and type several chapters if I also talked about the indirect meddling.