Without doubt, the year 2024 is a super-election year – for the transatlantic community and globally. Almost half the world’s population is eligible to vote this year. In Germany and the United States, the European Parliament election, the U.S. Presidential and Congressional elections, and the State elections in Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia will have impact far beyond domestic or regional policy. At the same time, democracy itself is under pressure: Authoritarian forces around the world are on the rise, and trust in democratic self-government is on decline across Western democracies.
In this precarious situation for democracy, the world witnessed the breakthrough of artificial intelligence. Rapidly evolving large-language models continue to offer a wide range of undreamt-of possibilities for companies, the public sector, and the average citizen. But as every technology, AI can also be abused by malign actors. For the democratic process, the abuse of AI for the purpose of spreading misinformation, identity theft, and election interference poses new challenges.
One month ahead of the European Parliament election, we want to take stock of these challenges, discuss how to meet them, and how to make the AI moment a historic event that strengthens election integrity around the world.
Speakers: