Democracy & Tech
A Complex and Intertwined Relationship
Why We Work with Democracy
Decisions made in a democracy heavily influence the direction of development. If we engage with the democratic process, we can contribute to ensuring that scientific research and technological development align with societal needs and public values.
To thrive, we – as a science park – need public trust and support. If we contribute to advancing democracy by promoting open discussions about the impact of scientific progress, we believe that the public- everyone – will better understand and feel invested in what we do.
This, we believe, leads to a more responsible and sustainable approach to scientific innovation.
How We Work with Democracy
We believe that we have duty to support a healthy democracy.
Through our events, we engage the public and spur innovation.
By organizing open events where scientists and entrepreneurs discuss their work with the public, we contribute to transparency and public understanding of scientific developments and innovations.
By hosting discussions on ethics in AI or data privacy, we encourage dialogue on how emerging technologies affect society, to promote responsible tech development.
Engaged and informed citizens are crucial for responsible development and use of technology that can benefit society.
What Tech Can Do for Democracy
Tech can help strengthen democratic values, in a healthy democracy.
Ideally, technology helps citizens take part in government processes. With online tools voting and public discussions can be made easier, and officials held accountable. Open data and online platforms can increase make it easier to see what governments are up to, for example how decisions are made and how tax money is spent.
Tech can also help streamline government services and how governments communicate, making them authorities more accessible and responsive to what citizens need.
AI can help strengthen democracy, for example support in analyzing large amounts of data to identify and counter misinformation – or to develop more efficient and transparent voting systems.
Challenges
However, tech can be a threat to democracy and human rights.
- The spread of fake news and manipulation of social media can undermine informed decision-making in elections. AI can be used to create deepfakes: realistic-looking videos or audio recordings that have been manipulated to make someone say or do something they never did. Deepfakes can be used to spread misinformation and sow discord during elections or other political events.
- Algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained on. Biased data gives biased algorithms. This can lead to unfair results in areas such as voting, criminal justice, and access to public services.
- Surveillance is another challenge. AI can be used to track people’s movements, monitor their online activity, and even predict their behavior. This raises concerns about privacy and freedom of expression.
- AI is good at helping making decisions and is increasingly used to make them. Some of these were made by humans before, such as loan approvals or parole decisions. As these decisions can have a significant impact on people’s lives, we need to ensure that they are fair and unbiased. Hence, automated decisionmaking can be a threat to democracy.
- Many AI systems are complex and opaque. It can be difficult to understand how they make decisions, which can lead to a lack of trust and accountability.
- AI will become more sophisticated and likely automate more jobs currently done by humans. People losing jobs could lead to social unrest.
- The right to privacy can be at risk as well. Government surveilling or collecting data extensively through private companies can put individual privacy and freedom of expression at risk.
Democracy: The Steering Wheel
