Artificial intelligence threatens elections | L’Economiste

The damaging effects of fake news on society need no further demonstration. The topic was discussed during the question time  session of the House of Representatives last Monday, with a particular focus on the legal means of dealing with such harmful effects of fake-news. On this subject, the Minister of Justice has a clear idea of what needs to be done. The fight against this highly problematic phenomenon features prominently in the draft Penal Code currently in the hands of the Head of Government. Once Aziz Akhannouch formulates his observations, the new legislation will be adopted by the Government Council before being transferred to Parliament. «If you have any comments or proposed amendments to protect the privacy of citizens, I’d be delighted to hear from you. We’re going to help each other to set (in the Penal Code) maximum penalties for the new means of communication», said Abdellatif Ouahbi to the deputies.

However, while acknowledging these harmful effects, they have nothing to do with the devastating impact that another upcoming phenomenon could have on our society. «Indeed, the next challenge you’re going to face lies in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in politics. We’ll see people  saying things when in fact they’ve made no statements at all. The most dangerous thing is that you’re going to face this threat during the elections»,  he said. According to him, political opponents will come up with people who insult religion, for example, knowing that citizens don’t distinguish between reality and AI. In the US, the Government has set up a commission to deal with this issue so that it doesn’t affect elections. This is why the Ministry of Justice is holding a conference next September on AI and the legal framework. «I hope we’ll pass a law in this area before the next elections. We need to have a mechanism in place to deal with this phenomenon and prevent AI from influencing our electoral and democratic path», added Abdellatif Ouahbi.

With regard to the enforcement of judgments against the Government in administrative courts, the Minister has his own ideas, even if the question has not yet been definitively settled. Will this responsibility be assigned to the Ministry of Justice or to the Higher Council of the Judiciary, asked Abdellatif Ouahbi. From what angle? From the angle of the judge’s power to handle enforcement proceedings, or that of the court clerk’s office in monitoring administrative enforcement? The Minister would  not go into details. In any case, the total number of judgments to be enforced against the Government amounts to 14,307. Those that have been enforced number 5,458, representing an enforcement rate of 38%. Judgments in progress total 7,072 cases, a rate of 49%. The amounts enforced following judgments handed down by the administrative courts amounted to around 1.019 billion Dirhams (USD 101 million). It should be noted that 2,478 cases were settled against local authorities and 5,153 against public establishments and companies. 

Concerning the breakdown of files executed by province, the Minister was prolix. Indeed, 818 cases were handled by the Fez administrative court, for a total value of 120 million Dirhams (USD 101 million). In the Rabat administrative court, there were 1,666 cases worth nearly 631 million Dirhams (USD 63 million). Marrakech had 858 cases and 92 million Dirhams ($9.2 million), Oujda 960 cases and 79 million Dirhams ($7.9 million), and Casablanca 420 cases for 49 million Dirhams (USD 4.9 million). He cited other provinces and other amounts still to be paid.

Mohamed CHAOUI