AI culture war: Hidden bias in training models may push political propaganda

Hangzhou developed DeepSeek despite US export controls on high-performance chips commonly used to design and test AI models, thus proving how quickly advanced AI models can emerge despite roadblocks, adds Adnan Masood, chief AI architect at digital transformation company UST.

With a lower cost of entry, it’s now easier for organizations to create powerful AIs with cultural and political biases built in. “On the ground, it means entire populations can unknowingly consume narratives shaped by a foreign policy machine,” Masood says. “By the time policy executives realize it, the narratives may already be embedded in the public psyche.”

Technology as propaganda

While few people have talked about AI models as tools for propaganda, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise, Moogimane adds. After all, many technologies, including television, the Internet, and social media, became avenues for pushing political and cultural agendas as they reached the mass market.