In September 2024, I was honoured to be chosen by the Churchill Trust to travel abroad following this huge global election year, to investigate the risks associated with the emerging use of AI as tool to spread misinformation and disinformation.

The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Report 2024 lists the use of misinformation and disinformation to further widen societal and political divides as the top serious global risk in the coming two years.

More than half the population of the world, in more than 70 countries, will participate in elections in 2024, including countries such as the UK, the USA, Indonesia and India.

Artificial intelligence is on the rise, including in the generation of genuine news stories as well as misinformation and disinformation.

I will be investigating the emerging use of AI as tool to spread misinformation and disinformation so that Australian electoral commissions can learn for future federal, state and local elections.

I plan to visit the electoral commissions in India, the UK, and Ireland, as well as a number of other agencies and scholarly institutes, as part of my research.

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