A bright or dystopian future with AI?
Risky Business Solutions co-founder Tony Eastin joined Iowa Public Radio to expose a growing threat in AI-driven disinformation. Their investigation revealed how "dark PR firms" are purchasing expired local news domains to host AI-generated content, effectively weaponizing the historical reputation of trusted journalism for automated influence operations.
Artificial intelligence has been the subject of many dystopian novels and movies, but it's become apparent that AI will intersect with more and more aspects of our lives and careers.
On this River to River: how AI can be wielded as a tool and the concerns that make the future murky. While researching a possible investment, former Meta employee Tony Eastin came across what appeared to be a reputable source: a small but long-standing newspaper, The Clayton County Register. But the site he opened contained only AI-generated content. His investigation found several expired domains of established news sites have been snatched up by similar "dark PR firms" — public relations with a disinformation model — using the reputation of these URLs to fuel their disinformation campaigns. Host Ben Kieffer speaks with Eastin about the risks posed by AI disinformation.
Then Drake University professor Martin Roth, who co-created Drake's AI major and minor, and University of Iowa professor of rhetoric Justin Cosner, who teaches a class on journalism and AI discuss innovation and ethics.
This episode of River to River was originally produced March 28, 2024.