AI-CODE: AI services for Continuous trust in emerging Digital Environments

AI-CODE is a Horizon Europe project aiming to research and develop novel generative-AI-based solutions dedicated to media professionals and thus support creation and dissemination of trustful and credible online content. It reflects on rapid technological advancement not only in the area of generative AI but also in next-generation social media, which are just around the corner.

The media sector is exposed to and undergoing continuous innovations that occur at a pace never seen before and have a non-negligible impact on citizens, democracy and a society as whole. A significant booster becomes generative Artificial Intelligence, which already plays and will continue to play a critical role in creating and spreading information, in both positive and negative ways. Especially in next-generation social media, which refer to the anticipated evolution towards more AI-based decentralized and immersive virtual environments (like fediverses and metaverses), generative AI can become the most prominent enabler of disinformation growth accompanied by a lack of trusted information. Media professionals are not, however, currently well-equipped with supporting tools nor knowledge to operate in such emerging environments.

As a result, there is a tremendous need for innovative (AI-based) solutions ensuring media freedom and pluralism, delivering credible and truthful information as well as combating highly disinformative content.

The main goal of the AI-CODE project is to evolve state-of-the-art research results (tools, technologies, and know-how) from the past and ongoing EU-funded research projects focused on disinformation to a novel ecosystem of services that will proactively support media professionals in trusted information production through AI.

First, the project aims to identify, analyze, and understand future developments of next-generation social media in the context of rapid development of generative Artificial Intelligence and how such a combination can impact the (dis)information space.

Second, the project aims to provide media professionals with novel AI-based services to coach them how to work in emerging digital environments and how to utilize generative AI effectively and credibly, to detect new forms of content manipulation, as well as to assess the reputation and credibility of sources and their content.

AI-CODE will deliver an interconnected and easily extendable ecosystem of multiple modular AI-based services closely co-developed with and for media professionals. The envisioned services will be built on top of research outcomes from present disinformation- and trust-focused projects such as TITAN, AI4TRUST or vera.ai, in which KInIT is also a consortium member.