Addressing the impact of artificial intelligence, cyberviolence, and deepfakes on equality, democracy and inclusive societies

Apie kvietimą

Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Enhanced understanding of the impact of AI-driven technologies, including AI-generated deepfakes and automated content generation on equality, political participation, democratic processes, public trust, and social cohesion, with evidence-based insights into their role in mitigating or exacerbating disparities. Uptake of evidence-based policy frameworks for responsible, trustworthy, and transparent AI governance, integrating ethical, legal, and societal considerations to safeguard fundamental rights, mitigate risks of disinformation, and ensure fair and safe AI deployment, in line with the obligations set out in the EU Regulation on artificial intelligence[1]. Increased public awareness and media literacy to empower citizens to identify and critically assess disinformation, use of deepfakes for malicious purpose, and online harm, alongside the uptake of evidence-based tools for preventing, detecting, and mitigating these harms. Strengthened capacity of academic institutions to conduct societally relevant AI research and drive the development of trustworthy, ethical AI models, enabled by increased academia-industry collaboration and better access to e.g., computing infrastructure, high-quality datasets, collaborative tools, and funding. Scope: The rapid development and deployment of AI technologies, along with their malicious use such as the creation of artificially generated and manipulated content,, profoundly impacts democracy, equality, social inclusion, and knowledge production, and contributes to the rise of cyberviolence. Although AI can offer many opportunities, its misuse can facilitate/amplify inequalities and power imbalances, spread misinformation and cyberviolence against women, children and minorities, concentrate data control, and undermine democratic processes. Hence, this topic addresses both the malicious use of AI (e.g. AI-generated disinformation, deepfakes, cyberviolence) and its unintentional societal consequences (e.g. algorithmic opacity, amplification of bias). AI’s role in media influence and public trust demands urgent attention, as the rise of AI-generated or manipulated content, including deepfakes, threatens democratic processes and epistemic rights. A key area of concern is how AI and artificially generated content is impacting cyberviolence, and the effect it has on individuals or groups who distrust democracy, particularly where this distrust intersects with far-left and far-right populism and foreign interference. Proposals should explore how AI-driven technologies and their use may either exacerbate or mitigate[2] inequalities and discriminations based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic background, religion or belief, age, and disability, particularly in access to information, decision-making, and representation. A critical analysis is needed of how data - often reflecting existing social biases - can…