Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and journalist, has called for urgent regulation of artificial intelligence to prevent the loss of human agency. Speaking from her role at the United Nations, she highlights how AI’s evolution—from social media manipulation to advanced autonomous systems—poses unprecedented risks that require robust political action.
- AI manipulation threatens human decision-making and democracy
- Calls for accountability of tech companies and legislative action
- Supports public interest platforms to foster safe digital dialogue
What happened
Maria Ressa, co-chair of the United Nations' international scientific panel on AI and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has publicly warned that artificial intelligence, if left unregulated, could usurp human agency. She articulated these concerns during a conference in Oslo addressing threats to democracy worldwide.
Ressa outlined how AI has evolved through three phases: social media capturing attention and polarizing societies, the infiltration of intimate biological manipulation via chatbots, and now the emergence of agentic AI systems that act autonomously on behalf of humans. She stressed the urgency of legislative intervention to limit AI's unchecked growth.
Why it matters
The unchecked expansion of AI technologies risks eroding democratic processes and individual freedoms by manipulating user behavior and bypassing human control. Ressa highlights the need to view AI regulation as a public safety issue, not a suppression of free speech, emphasizing the societal impact beyond just youth.
She also stresses the importance of holding technology companies accountable for harms caused by addictive and manipulative features. Ressa points to ongoing lawsuits against major social media firms as a model for establishing corporate responsibility and for setting legal precedents to mitigate the harmful effects of AI-driven platforms.
What to watch next
Key developments to monitor include legislative efforts in various regions, such as the European Union and Australia, which are introducing age limits and other regulatory measures for social media. However, Ressa warns these are insufficient alone and advocates for broader reforms addressing addictive features affecting all users.
Additionally, Ressa promotes the creation of public interest communication platforms—examples like Rappler Communities, which enable secure, decentralized, and democratic digital engagement—offering a model for alternatives to Big Tech-controlled spaces. How governments and civil society support such initiatives will be critical for the future digital ecosystem.