Estonian, Latvian ministers discuss development of AI, cyber threats

TALLINN - Estonian Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta and Latvia's Minister for Smart Administration and Regional Development Inga Berzina discussed artificial intelligence development and data security in their meeting on Monday, also addressing the threats posed by deepfakes.

"When implementing the EU's artificial intelligence regulation, attention must be paid to creating simple solutions so that our small businesses, too, can be competitive in the global race to use artificial intelligence," the Estonian minister said in a press release. "Access to regulatory sandboxes must be ensured, where higher-risk AI applications can be tested. This must be done safely and in full compliance with legal requirements."

The ministers also discussed the increasing use of deepfakes to interfere in democratic elections. As the perpetrators of such targeted operations, in the case of Estonia and Latvia, are overwhelmingly the same and primarily of Russian origin, it is extremely important to have a functioning and fast exchange of information between the Baltic countries. Close cooperation and exchange of experience in securing data is equally important, the ministers noted.

Pakosta said that, unfortunately, not all democracies are able to see and assess the dangers brought about by the targeted and increasingly shameless use of deepfakes.