Nighat Dad

More than 50 countries hold elections this year, determining the future of half the planet's population. While there are debates around policy and the candidates from Indonesia to the United States, the one issue that arguably looms above everything else is the use of existing and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence by political parties and their supporters.

The new Global Risks Report by the World Economic Forum warns that misinformation and disinformation are the most significant short-term risks. The spread of misinformation and disinformation, driven in part by new AI tools, is a key risk to major elections in 2024 that could potentially undermine the legitimacy of new governments, it said.

As the world watches the disintegration of one of the biggest and most influential social media platforms, Twitter, it should give us pause regarding the larger structures in place at tech platforms and the impact these developments have on the global majority beyond the United States and Europe.

While many users and experts have suggested moving to alternatives or reducing dependence on tech platforms, many users in the global majority do not have that luxury as they have always been the recipients of global technological innovations and products, marketed to them as an afterthought.