This policy brief focuses on short-term action (2026-2028) around AI governance and provides practical guidelines for experts and policymakers. It introduces a framework that embeds democratic pillars — participation, freedom, equality, transparency, knowledge, and the rule of law — directly into the entire AI lifecycle.

The aim of the first three modules of KT4D’s Social Risk Toolkit thus focuses on the individual aspects of this challenge and is multifaceted.

We adopt a systematic approach to map the entanglement between past and present knowledge technologies and culture. Unlike many contemporary discussions that focus on specific issues or technological applications (such as deepfakes or photo manipulation), we map the entirety of past and present knowledge technologies to identify trends, general divergences, and similarities.

Module C of the Toolkit has two primary objectives: First, to understand AI and big data within the context of a long history of interactions between technological affordances and cultural norms, values, and practices. This recognises that knowledge technologies—such as written language, the printing press, television, radio, etc.—have shaped culture and knowledge production. The relationship between technology and culture is fundamentally mutual and reciprocal. Second, building upon the first objective, Module C focuses on the particular definition of AI and big data as advanced knowledge technologies (AKTs). We analyse the past in this module to better understand the present and—potentially—to anticipate what may lie ahead.

The policy brief published by KT4D suggests that examining culture allows for a deeper understanding of societal responses to AI development.

This section presents the KT4D serious game, an interactive tool to engage players with ethical dilemmas surrounding advanced knowledge technologies.

There are both instrumental and intrinsic reasons to value democracy. In short, democracy is valuable instrumentally because 

When we think of freedom or ‘liberty’ we typically think of it in certain ways: e.g., freedom to act as we please, freedom from harm or interference, freedom of thought, or freedom to be a member of a community (Susskind, 2018: 165).