Denmark and Norway temporarily pull Russia spy documentary over AI risks

Danish public broadcaster DR and Norway's NRK have temporarily taken down the documentary series "Skyggekrigen" ("The Shadow War") from their streaming platforms. The series covers suspected Russian intelligence activity in Northern Europe, and the removal comes amid concerns that artificial intelligence tools could be used to identify the anonymous sources featured in it.

What the documentary covers

First broadcast in 2023, the series was produced jointly by four Nordic public broadcasters. It claims that at least 50 Russian civilian vessels may have been used to covertly gather intelligence, and it also examines ships suspected of mapping sensitive infrastructure for possible sabotage purposes.

A precautionary move

Frode Frojland, editor-in-chief of NRK's documentary program "Brennpunkt," said the series was pulled after DR informed NRK it had taken the same step. Since "Skyggekrigen" is a joint Nordic production, NRK followed suit. Frojland added that the series had been anonymized safely when it originally aired, and the broadcaster is now working to put it back online.

Expert warning

Morten Goodwin, an artificial intelligence professor at the University of Agder, told NRK that AI has become highly capable at deanonymizing content when anonymization was insufficient to begin with, whether in images, audio, movement or video. He stressed that media outlets seeking to protect source anonymity must ensure a source's face and surroundings are blurred completely rather than partially, and that their voice is fully altered.