The West University of Timisoara (UVT) and the European Parliament organised on Friday the debate entitled 'Disinformation and Artificial Intelligence from a European Perspective', as part of the UniPE Programme, which aims to bring European issues closer to young people.

'Due to its position on the European Union's eastern flank, Romania has become a constant target of disinformation and AI-based hybrid warfare campaigns. Our country is on the front line of these disinformation campaigns, which can extend beyond the borders of a Romanian-on-Romanian conflict,' said the debate moderator, journalist Melania Cincea.

UVT Rector Marilen Pirtea pointed out that we are all living under the impact of technological development, artificial intelligence and information abundance. In this context, he said, universities have an additional responsibility beyond training professionals in various fields: they must also help young people develop sound judgement.

'The ability to exercise discernment is key to the role of universities. In a world of information abundance, truth becomes essential. It must be sought, verified and, in many cases, protected. At times, this becomes a form of intellectual survival. That is why, beyond the abundance of information, it is essential for young people to know how to distinguish between what is real and what is not, what is relevant and what can guide them through life. We can find many answers, but to find the right answer to a problem, we must know how to ask the right question,' Marilen Pirtea explained.

The UVT rector stressed that the boundaries between various professions would gradually disappear, and that employers would no longer ask what people wanted to do in the future, but rather what they could do, how many skills they had and how quickly they could adapt to change.

MEP Dan Barna highlighted the rapid pace of technological and information-related change between generations and the need to adapt to the extraordinary challenges posed by today's information sources.

'It is important for your generation of young people to understand that the screen of your phone, which is your generation's trusted source, can be just as credible or just as misleading as any other information source. You must understand that what you see on the screen is never a certainty, and before sharing a message, you need to ask yourself whether it is true or not,' Dan Barna explained.

His message to the students was to maintain a reasonable degree of scepticism towards any news item or message they receive and to verify its accuracy before sharing it further.

'It is up to us not to become the 'dupes' of society. It's the choice of each of you which side you want to be on. Keep your reason! There is no absolute certainty. Because individual salvation lies in your ability to adapt to your society,' the MEP said.

Dan Barna mentioned several digital tools developed by the European Parliament and the European Commission to protect the public against disinformation, including the labelling of AI-generated content so that it is clearly identified, just like electoral or advertising videos.

MEP Gheorghe Falca stressed in his address that unprecedented means of accessing information are now available and that young people must learn to distinguish between reliable information and disinformation.

'Hybrid warfare has always existed, but today its scale is enormous. The tools used in hybrid warfare are now highly pervasive - TikTok, Facebook and other platforms - and you, as young people, must be able to use critical thinking to determine very quickly whether the information you encounter is accurate or not. (...) We, the generation of the 1989 Revolution, have done our part. We brought Romania into an integrated security framework within NATO. From now on, there is only one thing left for us to do: defend every day what we have been given, these values, by those who fought to make us free,' Falca said.

Communications expert Adriana Saftoiu recounted an instance of disinformation that followed every step of a carefully devised scheme: requests for money were made using her phone number and in her name.

'I gave this example because it followed the disinformation playbook to the letter. If you don't want to be misled, you cannot be misled. But you have to want that. Regardless of whom you support or what you like, even in situations like this, you must not allow yourself to be misled,' Adriana Saftoiu said. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Otilia Halunga; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)