News Corp executive chairman Michael Miller warns unchecked AI is rapidly eroding the truth

Artificial intelligence (AI) is proving to be a double-edged sword, which left unchecked “scales disinformation, blurs fact from fabrication, and takes advantage of the way we think’, News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller warned.

“An environment where, without proper guardrails, verified research and journalism are replaced by algorithmically generated simulations, superficial summaries, and hallucinations,” Mr Miller said during a speech at the Higher Education FEST 26 at Sydney’s Macquarie University on Tuesday.

“Truth is not a nice-to-have. It’s the foundation everything else stands on. Our democracy, our economy, our ability to simply believe what’s in front of us,” he said.

“And AI, unchecked, is eroding it faster than anything we’ve faced before – scraping our work, blurring fact from fabrication, and letting the confident sound true whether it is or not,” Mr Miller said at the event which brings together leaders in higher education, communications, marketing, recruitment and AI implementation.

“Respect for the truth is the bedrock of our legal system. A witness steps into a courtroom and swears to tell it,” he said.

Mr Miller’s speech came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among 22 signatories overnight calling for international safeguards on AI amid warnings from industry leaders and scientists about its rapid growth.

Mr Miller said for centuries mastheads served as “verified proof points, where politics, law, court rulings and business dealings are investigated, challenged, debated, before earning their place in the historical record”.

“Equally, universities have played a vital role, establishing themselves as trusted reference points through peer-reviewed research and scientific breakthroughs,” he said.

“But unvetted, AI systems lack respect for these very foundations. Left unchecked, AI can dilute and distort facts at a rate the truth has never had to withstand.

Truth isn’t just something to defend – “it’s our greatest asset for navigating what comes next”, Mr Miller said.

“So the choice in front of us is simple. Not to be compromised, but to defend the truth, and the institutions built to protect it.”

Mr Miller said tech companies routinely use algorithms to manipulate what we see on their platforms.

“Platforms realised that the most profitable way to capture attention was not by delivering neutral facts, but by feeding users algorithmic loops designed to provoke reaction,” Mr Miller said.

“As algorithms began rewarding engagement over accuracy, objective facts were demoted in favour of content that sparked emotion.