Hikmat Hajiyev: Finding truth becomes greater challenge in age of AI

Finding the truth has become a greater challenge in the age of artificial intelligence, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration said during a special session titled "The Language of Peace and Countering Disinformation", held as part of the Baku Culture and Media Dialogue Platform.

According to Report, he noted that disinformation was one of the main obstacles in this regard.

"This is not a new concept. We are now seeing it spread on a much wider scale. Artificial intelligence and social media have become factors amplifying this phenomenon," he said.

The presidential aide also drew attention to international law.

"Today, artificial intelligence is even being used to interfere in the internal affairs of countries. Azerbaijan spent 30 years building a system to counter disinformation. At the time, a situation was created in which it appeared that Azerbaijan had occupied another country's territory. In other words, disinformation is nothing new to us," he said.

Hajiyev recalled that CNN had reported on an extremely serious issue some time ago.

"It was an issue that could have had a very serious impact on the situation in the region. This was not a professional approach. What did Azerbaijan do in response? It requested an explanation from the other side and raised the issue at the United Nations. However, no response has been received so far," he said.

According to him, CNN's report had suggested that Israeli forces were present in Azerbaijan and could launch an attack on Iran if necessary.

"Technically, this would not be possible. It was outright disinformation," he said.

Hajiyev also noted that Azerbaijan had a very limited geographical area.

"Journalists must understand, when writing such reports, that this is technically impossible," he said.

The presidential aide said CNN's article about Azerbaijan, published during the Iran-Israel war, was entirely inaccurate.

"If we consider their claims, how could Israel transport military equipment here? If that were the case, it would be very easy to detect using satellites or other equipment. These claims were not plausible," he said.

He added that the report was part of a disinformation campaign targeting Azerbaijan.

"In other words, not only journalists and professional media outlets but also diplomats became targets of this disinformation," Hajiyev said.