Dr Andrew McIntyre gave a workshop on Generative AI and European Democracy at New Bulgarian University
On 1 November 2024, the SOLARIS project was invited to the New Bulgarian University (NBU) in Sofia. Dr Andrew McIntyre, a post-doc researcher from the Universiy of Amsterdam, delivered a workshop on the project’s achievements before students from Bulgaria, France, Germany and North Macedonia.
The participation was part of the larger agenda of the students of a youth European dialogue summer school and was co-organised by NBU and Brand Media Bulgaria, a communication partner at the SOLARIS consortium.
Why study the impacts of generative AI and democracy?
The recent emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies presents an urgent and profound challenge to the stability of European democracies. Such technologies are capable of producing increasingly realistic fake audiovisual content (e.g., so-called “deepfakes”) that could be used to create convincing disinformation, threaten political figures, and manipulate public sentiment to interfere with electoral processes.
More broadly, such technologies are further exacerbating current political polarization by undermining trust in our institutions and ushering in an age of uncertainty. This interactive workshop aimed to provide students with an overview of the complex socio-political challenges that AI-generated media poses to European democracies, as well as the potential policy and governance solutions. Furthermore, the workshop showcased the research of the Horizon Europe project SOLARIS that is currently exploring methods for tackling AI-generated disinformation and promoting democratic engagement.
The workshop was structured into three parts. Dr McIntyre started with a presentation covering the current state of generative AI, the socio-political challenges of this technology, and the current state of policy, giving the floor for questions by the curious students. Then, he presented an overview of the SOLARIS project and demonstrated the SOLARIS platform, a novel application for creating deepfake content in a safe environment. Finally, the workshop ended with group discussions for students to explore possible policy responses and further considerations for policymakers tackling AI-generated disinformation.
DrAndrew McIntyre is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Logic, Language and Computation where his current research investigates the socio-political challenges and opportunities posed by AI-generated media as part of the Horizon Europe project SOLARIS. Previously, he has taught and researched at the University of Glasgow, University of Stirling and Humboldt University of Berlin and his upcoming research monograph Art and Authorship in the AI Spring explores the emergence of AI-generated art, media and communications through the lens of media philosophy.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. The European Union cannot be held responsible for them.