GEORGETOWN, Guyana – President Irfaan Ali has instructed the Office of the Attorney General to review penalties for artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content after a fisherfolk raised concerns over a significant drop in sales linked to misinformation of the MV Barima tragedy.
In the aftermath of the July 18 MV Barima tragedy, in which 73 people were killed and more than 30 others still missing and feared dead, doctored images and AI-generated videos began circulating online, misrepresenting details of the tragedy and fueling public confusion.
As a result, this has led to an increase in reluctance by the public to consume fish.
Ali said that this type of misinformation “can cause severe harm on communities of society,” telling the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, “I’m asking you to look at that”.
President Ali, who was speaking at the Model Village Initiative consultation on Thursday, added that the government will roll out a public education campaign to help the public identify manipulated content and understand the harm it can cause.
Earlier this week, the government said that the search and recovery operations following the MV Barima tragedy have ended.
However, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre remains operational, and the government said “there has been no change in the status of the identification of the recovered bodies”.
