We are excited to share this upcoming interdisciplinary workshop on AI\, social platforms and democracy \;that we are organizing in Prague at the Center for Environmental and Technology Ethics (CETE-P). \;
\nThe problem of social media platforms and AI for democracy is rather well-known today\, with various books dedicated to this topic specifically (e.g.\, Coeckelbergh's (2024) \;Why AI Undermines Democracy and What To Do About It\, \;Di Nucci's (2021) \;The Control Paradox\, Smuha's (2024) \;Algorithmic Rule By Law\, Zuboff's (2019) \;The Age of Surveillance Capitalism). Among the greatest challenges are the erosion of trusted information environments\, as more and more people rely on social media platforms to receive news. Many scholars speak of an 'information disorder' online\, characterised by different forms of false or misleading information\, which can be clustered into misinformation and disinformation. Polarisation online is widespread and influences political discourse and societies at large. Further\, various different actors aim to influence user behaviour on- and offline through targeted content recommendation\, using different techniques to exert influence. The Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2016 has been eye-opening for the public on the challenge that social media platforms pose for democracy. \;
\nThere has also been a policy response to this by the European Union\, including\, for example\, the General Data Protection Regulation (2016)\, the Digital Services Act (2022) and the AI Act (2024). At the same time\, academic research is often siloed\, fragmented and limited in its capacity to inform ethical policy development. Therefore\, presenters will have had a policy brief training with Daniel Cassidy of the Centre for European Policy Studies the previous day to acquire the necessary skills for effective policy communication. \;
\nThis academic workshop\, co-organized by Paula Gü\;rtler\, John Dorsch\, and Tuğba Yoldaş from the Centre for Environmental and Technology Ethics-Prague\, brings together a community of researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds to investigate the impact of social media platforms and AI on democracy and develop concrete policy recommendations to counteract the negative impact. We aim to identify additional pathways for action and instruments to address the issues. \;
\nThe questions that motivate this workshop are: \;
\nEach talk lasts 30 minutes and is followed by a 15 minutes discussion of the policy proposal put forth by the presenter. The workshop program is as follows:
\n9.30-10.00 Arrival
\n10.00-10.45 "AI &\; Democracy: Elements\, Risks and EU Digital Laws" - Matú\;&scaron\; Mesarčí\;k\, Ethics and Law Specialist at KInIT and Comenius University Bratislava
\n10.45-11.30 "Leveraging Algorithmic Auditing of Social Media Recommenders" - Jakub &Scaron\;imko\, Lead and Researcher at KInIT
\n11.30-11.45 Coffee break \;
\n11.45-12.30 "Recognizing Online Manipulation: Features\, Harms\, and EU Digital Regulation" - Tuğba Yoldaş\, Postdoctoral Researcher at CETE-P
\n12.30-13.45 Lunch \;
\n13.45-14.30 "AI\, Social integration and Informational Harms" - Andrew McIntyre\, Independent Researcher
\n14.30-15.15 "Freedom of Thought in Algorithmic Environments: Epistemic Agency and the Next Step for EU Digital Regulation" &ndash\; John Dorsch\, Postdoctoral Researcher at CETE-P
\n15.15-15.30 Coffee break \;
\n15.30-16.15 "Critical AI Literacy and Epistemic Competence" - Jacqueline Bellon\, Doctoral Researcher at University of Tü\;bingen
\n16.15-17.15 Joint Discussion: Toward Policy Options \;
\n17.15-17.30 Closing
\nThe goal of the workshop is to develop an actionable proposal on how to strengthen democracy vis-à\;-vis new technologies. This requires interdisciplinary exchange between philosophy\, political and social sciences\, media studies\, computer science\, and legal studies. This workshop offers opportunities for the public to participate. \;
ORGANIZER;CN=John Dorsch;CN="Tuğba Yoldaş": METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR