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More than 60 national elections will take place in 2024. Amid a growing threat of democratic backsliding, digital technologies can play a role in amplifying disinformation and polarization. How can policymakers and voters help defend democracy from this growing challenge?
Increasingly, some governments are pushing back on threats to democracy with a new class of deliberative technologies. These digital tools support public discussion on policy issues, encourage citizens to participate and synthesize a wide range of insights. Such tools can help large numbers of people listen at scale to each other, add individual input and find common ground in a time of polarization.
Join us for a policy symposium to learn how these new digital tools can help defend democracy. This is part of the Keough School’s series Evidence to Action: Translating Research Into Policy Impact.
Presented by the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and its Kellogg Institute for International Studies, with participation from the Council on Technology and Social Cohesion, the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy. Made possible thanks to generous support from the Pulte Platform for Policy.
Program
10:00 a.m. Welcome
Andrés Mejía Acosta, Kuster Family Associate Dean for Policy and Practice, Keough School of Global Affairs
10:15 a.m. Opening Remarks
Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, U.S. Department of State
This talk will offer an overview of the state of democracy, the challenges posed by technology amplifying polarizing discourse and disinformation and the opportunity for new deliberative technologies enabling new methods of consultation and deliberation.
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Conceptual Overview: Understanding Digital Democracy, Computational Democracy and Deliberative Technologies
This panel will provide a conceptual overview of the interplay between technology and governance and will address how new technologies can support democratic inputs into policymaking. What can new technologies offer to classic political science questions about representation, participation, and party-voter linkages? There will be time for audience questions.
Moderator: Dmitry Zaytsev, Associate Professor of the Practice, Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society
Speakers
- Lisa Schirch, Richard G. Starmann, Sr. Professor of the Practice of Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs
- Andrew Konya, Chief Scientist, Remesh, “Deliberative Technologies and AI”
- Elizabeth Barry, COO & Head of Partnerships, Computational Democracy; Co-founder, Pol.is, “Overview of Computational Democracy and Polis”
- Colin Irwin, Research Fellow, University of Liverpool, “The Evolution of Democratic Inputs in Public Policy”
12:00 p.m. Lunch
Small groups will discuss and identify other issues, opportunities, and challenges.
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Case Studies: Deliberative Technology In Practice
This panel will provide brief portraits of digital democracy and what it looks like in practice for new technologies to support policymaking.
Moderator: Beth Goldberg, Head of Research and Development, Google Jigsaw; Senior Fellow, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs
Speakers
- Martin Waehlisch, Team Leader, UN Department of Peacebuilding and Political Affairs Innovation Unit, “Democratic Participation, Deliberation, and Policymaking”
- Caleb Gichuhi, Africa Lead, Build Up, “Deliberative technologies in Puntland, Somalia”
- Aref Dostyar, Advisor and Program Leader, Afghanistan Program for Peace and Development, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Keough School of Global Affairs, “Using Polis for Afghan Dialogue and Visioning on Key Principles”
2:30 – 2:45 p.m. Break
2:45 – 4:00 p.m. Opportunities and Challenges for Digital Democracy
This panel will highlight opportunities and challenges of using digital technologies to support public deliberation and consultations.
Moderator: Maura Policelli, Executive Director, Washington Office; Associate Professor of the Practice, University of Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs
Speakers:
- Beth Kerley, Senior Program Officer, Emerging Technology and Democracy, National Endowment for Democracy
- Sarah Moulton, Deputy Director for Democracy and Technology, National Democratic Institute
- Jared Ford, Director, Technology and Democracy, International Republican Institute
4:00 – 4:45 p.m. Agenda-Setting: The Future of Digital Democracy
In the closing sessions, representatives from the University of Notre Dame will discuss the university’s interest in exploring and supporting new ways of using technology to support democratic processes and public deliberation.
Moderator: Andrés Mejía Acosta, Kuster Family Associate Dean for Policy and Practice, University of Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs
Speakers:
- Georgina Curto Rex, Faculty, Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center
- Nuno Moniz, Associate Research Professor, Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, University of Notre Dame; Director, Notre Dame-IBM Technology Ethics Lab
- Lisa Schirch, Richard G. Starmann, Sr. Professor of the Practice of Peace Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs
5:00 p.m. Keynote
Maria Ressa, CEO, Rappler, Distinguished Policy Fellow, University of Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs, “Tech Opportunities and Threats to Democracy”
5:45 – 7:00 p.m. Reception