Research
Designing AI for Democracy: Combating Disinformation by Technological Measures
Organizers: Prof. Issachar Rosen-Zvi and Prof. Niva Elkin-Koren
The "Designing AI for Democracy" challenge aims to develop integrated technological and regulatory solutions to combat disinformation and misinformation. The initiative emphasizes legal and institutional approaches to maintain democratic integrity. Participants developed tools to monitor bots, identify inauthentic campaigns, and implement regulatory measures. The challenge includes training, networking, and a grand prize of 30,000 NIS, with the final event held in November 2024.
The year 2024 is poised to be a significant one for global democracy, with elections scheduled in over seventy countries, representing a collective population of approximately 4.2 billion people. Amidst this, the World Economic Forum has identified the spread of disinformation and misinformation as the foremost threat to democratic stability worldwide in the short term. This issue has also become a critical concern for tech companies, leading to the establishment of the Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI, a collaborative effort among major industry leaders.
In Israel, the situation is further compounded by the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the Northern front as well as the growing erosion of the country's international legitimacy. These circumstances underscore the urgent need to develop technological and regulatory tools to address the challenge of disinformation and misinformation.
To tackle this challenge, a focused initiative was launched with the aim of finding technological solutions informed by a comprehensive legal and institutional understanding of the issue. The rapid advancement of AI and other technologies has exacerbated the spread of disinformation, posing a direct threat to the democratic principle of a free marketplace of ideas. This challenge seeks to restore citizens' trust in democratic institutions and protect the integrity of social and political processes.
The anticipated outputs of this challenge may include the development of tools for detecting and monitoring bots, identifying inauthentic campaigns on social networks, and implementing regulatory measures that effectively curb the spread of disinformation and misinformation, while safeguarding freedom of speech and privacy rights.
Upon learning about this important project, Israel’s President, Hon. Itzhak Herzog, requested to take the initiative under his auspices. The final event of this initiative, featuring the announcement of the winners, will take place in November 2024 at the official residence of the President of Israel.
For further information please check the Challenge website.
