Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warned on Monday {that a} malicious “flood” of disinformation was threatening the world’s democracies, fueled partly by the swift rise of synthetic intelligence, which he says sows “suspicion, cynicism and instability” across the globe.

Mr. Blinken spoke in Seoul on the Summit for Democracy, a worldwide gathering organized by the Biden administration, which has made countering the authoritarian fashions of countries like Russia and China a high precedence.

Mr. Blinken, who as a younger man labored briefly as a journalist, mentioned that modifications to the worldwide move of knowledge could also be “the most profound” that he has skilled in his profession, and that anti-democratic forces had been exploiting these modifications.

“Our competitors and adversaries are using disinformation to exploit fissures within our democracies,” he mentioned.

He famous that international locations totaling almost half of the world’s inhabitants, including India, will maintain elections this 12 months underneath the specter of manipulated data. He didn’t point out the United States’ presidential election in November, which many analysts say could possibly be influenced by foreign-directed data campaigns just like the one Russia waged in 2016.

The U.S. promotes “digital and media literacy” applications overseas to assist news shoppers decide the reliability of content material, Mr. Blinken mentioned. But he cautioned that American adversaries had been intelligent about laundering their propaganda and disinformation. China, for example, has bought cable tv suppliers in Africa after which excluded worldwide news channels from subscription packages, he mentioned.

And more and more highly effective generative A.I. applications, Mr. Blinken mentioned, can “fool even the most sophisticated news consumers.”

The State Department has urged social media platforms to take extra motion, together with by clearly labeling A.I.-generated content material. Meta, the dad or mum firm of Facebook, announced such a plan final month for content material posted on Facebook and Instagram.

But consultants on the convention mentioned the problem was monumental. Speaking on the topic later within the day, Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister of Britain, cited the instance of an A.I.-generated image of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket that drew extensive consideration final 12 months.

Mr. Dowden mentioned that although he understood that the picture was faux, he retains a psychological affiliation between the pope and puffer jackets. Such photographs “influence your perceptions” subconsciously, he mentioned.

Mr. Blinken spoke days after a new report commissioned by the State Department and launched final week warned that synthetic intelligence presents the world with “catastrophic risks.” The report mentioned that an A.I. system “capable of superhuman persuasion” might undermine the democratic course of.

It additionally cited an unnamed outstanding A.I. researcher’s concern that “the model’s potential persuasive capabilities could ‘break democracy’ if they were ever leveraged in areas such as election interference or voter manipulation.”

Mr. Blinken mentioned the specter of business adware, which he mentioned a number of governments had used to watch and intimidate journalists and political activists. He mentioned that six international locations — Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Poland and South Korea — had been becoming a member of a U.S.-led coalition to make sure that business adware “is deployed consistent with universal human rights and basic freedoms.”

President Biden issued an executive order a 12 months in the past barring the U.S. authorities from utilizing business adware, although not comparable instruments constructed by U.S. intelligence companies.

This week’s Summit for Democracy is the third installment of a discussion board began in 2021 by Mr. Biden, who mentioned throughout his State of the Union deal with this month that “freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas.” The conferences are meant to assist different nations promote greatest civil society practices and defend in opposition to political sabotage.

Mr. Blinken’s go to to Seoul occurred as North Korea performed its newest take a look at launch of a number of short-range ballistic missiles. The launches got here days after joint U.S.-South Korean navy workouts that North Korea denounced as provocative.

Mr. Blinken didn’t point out the launches in his public remarks, though the State Department condemned them.

Matthew Miller, a division spokesman, additionally mentioned in an announcement that Mr. Blinken and the South Korean overseas minister, Cho Tae-yul, mentioned “Pyongyang’s military support for Russia’s war against Ukraine” and North Korea’s “increasingly aggressive rhetoric and activities.”