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DECEMBER 2020 SPECIAL EDITION

Spotlight on 

Democracy, Freedom of Speech and Artificial Intelligence

Curated by Maanya Vaidyanathan, AI for Peace Research Fellow

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WHY A SPECIAL EDITION ON DEMOCRACY, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND AI

In a year defined by challenges, our fundamental human rights are more dear to us than before. 2020 has presented a unique challenge to the world. Apart from the ongoing pandemic, human rights have been under threat in multiple parts of the world. The foundations of democracies have been attacked. Technology has played a huge role in both preserving and damaging these foundations.

AI has the power to twist, distort and take down speech online. At the same time it has the power to spread information faster than any other technology. One technology that can grant the freedom of information and simultaneously snatch it away. AI has become and will become increasingly integral to democracy and human rights, and it is imperative to understand AI developments and their impact on democracy.

 

Below find an assortment of recent articles, podcasts, webinars, and other resources for our special edition on democracy, freedom of speech, and AI.

READINGS WE RECOMMEND 

 

Artificial Intelligence and Democracy: How are AI based interventions recasting democracy in India? - 22 May 2020, Urvashi Aneja, Angelina Chamuah and, Abishek Reddy K

Increasingly, applications of big data and machine learning are being used to manipulate public opinion, spread and amplify hate speech, and increase the surveillance capacities of states across the world. What is the impact of AI on democracy in India? This paper, by the Indian think-tank Tandem Research aims to map and identify some of the key issues of concern around AI and democracy.

 

Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Norms: Meeting the Authoritarian Challenges - August 2020, Nicholas D. Write

This paper by Dr. Nicholas D. Wright examines emerging issues in four crucial arenas relating to the integrity and vibrancy of democratic systems. He examines threats to the freedom of speech, intellectual inquiry, contestation over the principles that govern technology and the leverage of state-driven capital for political and often corrosive purposes. The series evaluates the threats to these systems in the light of AI and AI driven technologies.

 

‘What Orwell Feared’: Artificial Intelligence vs Democratic Norms - 29 July 2020, Democracy Digest

In this scenario, most AI researchers around the world come to recognize the technology’s risks to humanity, and develop strong norms around its use. All except for one country, which makes the right noises about AI ethics, but only as a cover. Meanwhile, this country builds turnkey national surveillance systems, and sells them to places where democracy is fragile or nonexistent. The world’s autocrats are usually felled by coups or mass protests, both of which require a baseline of political organization. But large-scale political organization could prove impossible in societies watched by pervasive automated surveillance.

 

Artificial intelligence shows potential to gauge voter sentiment - 7 November 2020, Livemint

November was a historic month for the US democratic system. In the months leading up to the US elections experts used AI to gauge voter sentiment. This article highlights the attempts of few tech companies that developed AI models to make election predictions.

 

Artificial Intelligence for the Indo-Pacific: A Blueprint for 2030 - 27 November 2020, Abhijnan Rej

In this article the author identifies three technologies around AI for regional collaboration that can help further the free, open, resilient, and inclusive nature of the Indo-Pacific in the medium term, up until 2030. He includes spatial computing technology, resilient smart features, and counter-adversarial technologies.

 

Freedom of the Media and Artificial Intelligence - 9 November 2020, Julia Haas

This paper addresses how the use of artificial intelligence (AI) affects freedom of expression and media freedom. While AI can improve communication and information access in numerous ways, including through legacy media, the author focuses on the main concerns when AI is not deployed in a human rights-friendly manner.

 

Implications of AI-Driven Tools in the Media for Freedom of Expression - 28-29 May 2020, Prof. Dr. Natali Helberger, Sarah Eskens, Max van Drunen, Dr. Mariella Bastian and Dr. Judith Moeller

Taking into account the particular role of the media in a democracy as a source of information, platform for deliberation, and critical watchdog, it becomes evident that freedom of expression is a central human right to consider in the deployment of AI-driven tools in the media, next to the right to privacy and the prohibition of discrimination. Based on an analysis of the use of AI-driven tools in the light of Article 10 ECHR, this report highlights a number of points for attention and the need for further initiatives.

 

Report: Global Internet Freedom Declines in Shadow of Pandemic - October 2020, Adrian Shahbaz and Allie Funk

This report by Freedom House shows how the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating a dramatic decline in global internet freedom. For the 10th consecutive year, users have experienced an overall deterioration in their rights, and the phenomenon is contributing to a broader crisis for democracy worldwide. In the COVID-19 era, connectivity is not a convenience, but a necessity. Virtually all human activities—commerce, education, health care, politics, socializing—seem to have moved online. But the digital world presents distinct challenges for human rights and democratic governance. State and nonstate actors in many countries are now exploiting opportunities created by the pandemic to shape online narratives, censor critical speech, and build new technological systems of social control.

PODCASTS WE RECOMMEND    

 

Superintelligence Already Rules the World

HBR presents Exponential View with Azeem Azhar

22nd January 2020

David Runciman in conversation with Azeem Azhar discusses the current dynamics between private enterprises and states will shape the future of technology. They also talk about why the creators of artificial intelligence should account for politics when creating and implementing their technology.

 

Transparency’s AI Problem

Data and Democracy Podcast, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University

2nd October 2020

Hannah Bloch-Wehba discusses her paper “Transparency’s AI Problem,” which looks at artificial intelligence, its use in governments, and transparency law.

 

How democracies can reclaim digital power

Deep Tech, MIT Technology Review

15th October 2020

Marietje Schaake argues that national regulators aren’t doing enough to enforce democratic values in technology, and it will take an international effort to fight back. Schaake—a Dutch politician who used to be a member of the European parliament and is now international policy director at Stanford University's Cyber Policy Center—joins MIT Technology Review editor-in-chief, Gideon Lichfield, to discuss how decisions made in the interests of business are dictating the lives of billions of people.

 

Carissa Véliz on privacy, AI Ethics and Democracy

The Privacy Advisor Podcast

4th December 2020

Artificial intelligence, big data and personalization are driving a new era of products and services, but this paradigm shift brings with it a slate of thorny privacy and data protection issues. Ubiquitous data collection, social networks, personalized ads and biometric systems engender massive societal effects that alter individual self-determination, fracture shared reality and even sway democratic elections. As an associate professor at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Philosophy and the Institute for Ethics in AI, Carissa Véliz has immersed herself in these issues and recently wrote a book, "Privacy Is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data." In this latest Privacy Advisor Podcast, host Jedidiah Bracy, CIPP, caught up with Véliz to discuss her book and the importance privacy plays in society.

WEBINAR CHOICE

 

Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

Organised by: European Law Students Association (ELSA)

Date: 27th May 2020

 

The Rise of Artificial Intelligence & How it will Reshape the Future of Free Speech

Organised by: Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

Date: 8th July 2020

 

Artificial Intelligence, Democracy, and The Law

Organised by: The Institute for Technology & Society of Rio in partnership with German Embassy in Brazil

Date: 13th July 2020

 

Digital Technology, Social Media, and the 2020 Presidential Election

Organised by: Stanford Cyber Policy Centre

Date: 10th December 2020

 

Future of Speech Online 2020: Secure Communications and Free Expression

Organised by: Center for Democracy & Technology and Charles Koch Institute

Date: 7th - 11th December 2020

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