Research

Elections, Digital Platforms, and Artificial Intelligence

Organizers: Prof. Issi Rosen-Zvi and Prof. Niva Elkin-Koren

The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, together with the Shamgar Center for Digital Law and Innovation at Tel Aviv University, has launched a multidisciplinary research forum addressing the challenges of election management, digital platforms, and political campaigns in the age of artificial intelligence.

The forum will bring together scholars from law, political science, sociology, management, communication, data science, and computer science to engage in cross-disciplinary dialogue ahead of Israel’s next scheduled national elections in October 2026. Against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing democratic crisis, the group’s goal is to safeguard the integrity of elections—ensuring they remain free, fair, and trustworthy.

Participants will explore critical issues including: information manipulation and psychological operations, voter suppression among minority groups, privacy concerns and protection of the voter registry, the accountability of digital platforms, legal frameworks, and forensic tools for election integrity.

The group’s objectives are to identify key challenges, articulate guiding research questions, and foster collaborative projects. A subsequent call for proposals will provide targeted funding for research initiatives aimed at strengthening the legitimacy and credibility of democratic elections in Israel.