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). Philosophers have often said that freedom insofar as it is afforded to you by others is not freedom (Dworkin, 1989: Ch 1; Pettit, 2017; Skinner, 2012). Whilst AI and big data could in several ways enhance freedom, it may also limit it.
There are both instrumental and intrinsic reasons to value democracy. In short, democracy is valuable instrumentally because:
(1) democracy can assist us in producing laws and policies that protect the rights and interests of citizens,
(2) democracy more often than other systems produces the right laws and policies (there are epistemic benefits to democratic decision-making), and
(3) democracy can improve the people in it through increased autonomy and knowledge (Christiano and Bajaj, 2022).
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.
AI and Culture
Critical Digital Citizenship
Ethics and Trust in AI
Freedom and Manipulation
Inclusive Digital Democracy
Personal Data and User Profiling
The policy brief published by KT4D suggests that examining culture allows for a deeper understanding of societal responses to AI development.