UNESCO reported an unexpected threat from artificial intelligence.

The UNESCO organization has published a report warning about the threat of artificial intelligence to the memory of the Holocaust. Information created by artificial intelligence can distort historical facts and increase bias in society.

Particularly vulnerable to this are schoolchildren and students, who increasingly use generative tools for searching and completing educational tasks on the Internet.

«If we allow the spread of false facts about the Holocaust through the irresponsible use of artificial intelligence, we risk an increase in anti-Semitism and a loss of understanding of the causes and consequences of these horrors,» said UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay. Azoulay urges governments, AI workers, and politicians to adhere to ethical principles.

Since the average age of people who survived the Holocaust is 86 years, the understanding and memory of this genocide are fading. For schools and cultural institutions, it is especially important to protect historical monuments and ensure the preservation of testimonies for future generations in the fight against hate and anti-Semitism.

Artificial intelligence can help researchers process and extract a large amount of data about the Holocaust, including photos, texts, videos, and audio recordings. An example is the Arolsen Archive, which contains the most complete collection of original documents and personal belongings of more than 17.5 million people affected by Nazi persecution. Artificial intelligence helps to process and verify millions of documents and respond to many requests annually. At Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, speech processing technologies and generative AI are also used to identify previously unknown victims.

However, the misuse of artificial intelligence does not go without consequences. Research by the Anti-Defamation League has shown that 84% of Americans are concerned that generative AI tools will be used to spread inaccurate information, and 70% believe that this will exacerbate extremism, hate, and anti-Semitism in the United States.

The UNESCO report, published in collaboration with the World Jewish Congress, calls on technology companies to collaborate with governments, Holocaust survivors, and their descendants, as well as anti-Semitism experts and historians in the development of AI tools. It is important to take ethical principles into account when working with artificial intelligence.