Increasingly sophisticated generative AI systems have wowed the public, but also fueled concerns about their potential effects on an already fragile information ecosystem. These fears are particularly acute in 2024, with dozens of democracies holding elections and a record number of global voters expected to head to the polls.
How might AI impact the democratic process and how should policymakers respond? What steps can the media, AI providers, and social media companies take to help people find reliable information and recognize when content is AI-generated? On April 10, CSET Research Fellow Josh Goldstein and a panel of outside experts discussed these and other challenges.
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Josh A. Goldstein is a Research Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where he works on the CyberAI Project. Prior to joining CSET, he was a pre- and postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford Internet Observatory. His research has included investigating covert influence operations on social media platforms, studying the effects of foreign interference on democratic societies, and exploring how emerging technologies will impact the future of propaganda campaigns. He has given briefings to the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State, and senior technology journalists based on this work. He has been published in outlets including Brookings, Lawfare, and Foreign Policy. He holds an MPhil and DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Clarendon Scholar, and an A.B. in Government from Harvard College.
Dr. Sarah Shirazyan is Content Policy Manager and Head of Stakeholder Engagement for AI, Misinformation and Algorithmic Ranking policies within Meta’s Trust and Safety org. She oversees a global team responsible for working with academics, civil society, and advertisers globally to inform Meta’s policy and product development. Sarah is also a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, where she is teaching a course on confronting misinformation online. Prior to joining Meta, she served as a human rights lawyer for the European Court of Human Rights; worked on nuclear security issues at the U.N.; and handled international drug cartel investigation cases at INTERPOL. She holds SJD from Stanford Law School. Her work has been published in Journal for National Security Law and Policy; Stanford Journal of Online Trust and Safety; Lawfare; and Arms Control Today.
Lawrence Norden is the senior director of the Elections & Government Program, where he leads the Brennan Center’s work in a variety of areas, including its effort to bring balance to campaign funding and break down barriers that keep Americans from participating in politics, ensure that U.S. election infrastructure is secure and accessible to every voter, and protect elections from disinformation and foreign interference. In 2009, Norden served as chair of the Ohio secretary of state’s bipartisan Election Summit and Conference, authoring a report to the State of Ohio on improving that state’s election laws. Norden is a recipient of the Usability Professional Association’s Usability in Civic Life Award (2009) for his “pioneering work to improve elections,” and the Election Verification Network’s John Gideon Memorial Award (2022) for his “effective advocacy … to encourage citizen ownership of transparent, participatory democracy.” He is a graduate of the University of Chicago and NYU School of Law.
Dr. Jon Roozenbeek works on the psychology of intergroup conflict and (digital) media effects. His research comprises two major themes: modern propaganda and intergroup conflict (with a specialisation in the Russian-Ukrainian war), and understanding and countering misinformation, disinformation, and extremism. He has written two recent books: The Psychology of Misinformation and Propaganda and Ideology in the Russian-Ukrainian War. At War Studies, Jon is part of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Emergency Preparedness and Response. Before joining King’s, Jon held research positions at the University of Cambridge, where he worked on the psychology of misinformation and developed and tested interventions (such as online games) to counter common forms of manipulation. He holds a PhD in Slavonic Studies (2020), also from the University of Cambridge. His thesis examined media and identity building in wartime Donbas.