AI, BIg Data and Democracy Taskforce - AI UK Fringe Event

Democracy and civic participation are ever-evolving aspects of our societies and are heavily influenced by knowledge technologies such as AI and Big Data. The KT4D project is committed to analyse the risks and opportunities that these technologies pose on Democratic Systems with a particular attention towards vulnerable groups. In an effort to foster collaboration and maximise the results KT4D joined the AI, BIG DATA and DEMOCRACY TASK FORCE in collaboration with which it will participate through a workshop in the AI UK Fringe event organised by The Alan Turing Institute.

The AI, BIG DATA and DEMOCRACY TASK FORCE is a cluster project composed of four different EU-funded projects supporting together the European Commission’s commitment to supporting “Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies”. Some are funded under the Horizon call ‘Artificial intelligence, big data and democracy’ and some under the ‘The future of democracy and civic participation’, providing unique perspectives and working to create solutions to foster and safeguard democracy and civic participation against risks and impacts stemming from AI and Big Data.

The deep-dive workshop - of the duration of around 3 hours - organised by the Taskforce will delve into the interplay between AI, Big Data and Democracy. It will be divided into two parts, the first will be focused on keynotes coming from experts in AI Democracy and ethics and a second one will consist of a series of live demonstrations of newly developed tools for the use of AI in deliberative settings. Between the first and the second parts of the workshop there will be a short discussion involving the participants and a final session where participants will have the opportunity to try the presented tools and contribute to a feedback collection. 

KT4D.eu at the Event

Keith Hyams - Professor at the University of Warwick - participated in the event on behalf of the KT4D project discussing theoretical grounding for Responsible AI Use in democratic processes. After having defined democracy as a 'self-governemnt' where people are able to make decisions affecting their own lives and those of the entire community, he analysed the various kinds of democracy and how these are characterised by different values. Professor Hyams then delved into the core of the KT4D project investigating the role of AI towards these values, how it can threaten and/or enhance them, and most importantly how we can reap the benefits while avoiding the risks. 

RECORDINGS AVAILABLE HERE

PART 1 

PART 2