Lying in the age of artificial intelligence: A call to moral and legal responsibility

Abstract

In Western culture, perceptions and emotions have often prevailed over truth and reality, trivializing the act of lying and undermining trust between individuals and institutions. Today, freedom of expression and the right of citizens to freely form their own opinions—based on facts and not falsehoods—are sometimes threatened by the impunity with which lying is allowed in public debate, even in societies that consider themselves democratic. Lying, especially when practiced by public representatives, can cause serious social harm, and we believe that globalization calls for a higher common standard of respect for the truth. Along with the reflections of historical authors on the subject, in this essay we analyze two cases as examples: the false statistics used to achieve the decriminalization of abortion in democratic countries, and the lies of the Chinese authorities during the Covid-19 pandemic in one of today’s leading totalitarian states. We believe that these behaviors should not go unpunished, and therefore we propose to insert new criminal offenses in national and international criminal law, especially for those in public office and media professionals. Our objective is to preserve and promote truthfulness in our societies in order to foster trust and peaceful coexistence among free and equal people.