2024-06-12 –, Room B - THT Kamer
In this participatory workshop, researchers Shenja van der Graaf and Roel Lutkenhaus from the University of Twente's Center for Digital Inclusion invite attendees to explore the subtle yet significant ways AI and digital platforms may influence democratic processes. Through a combination of expert insights and interactive sessions, this workshop will highlight key findings on the role of algorithmic recommendations and search personalization in shaping public opinion and political outcomes.
The aim is to provoke thoughtful discussion on the dual role of technology in both supporting and challenging the principles of democracy. Attendees will gain a broader understanding of how digital tools can sway political views and the broader implications for electoral integrity.
Session Format:
1. Expert Insight: Brief presentations of key research findings, including the effects of YouTube's algorithm on content sensationalism and the impact of personalized search results on voter behavior.
2. Interactive Dialogue: Guided discussions where participants can share their experiences and views on the influence of AI in their digital interactions.
3. Collaborative Exploration: Group activities to simulate and analyze the effects of personalized digital environments on information diversity and decision-making.
4. Open Forum: An opportunity for participants to ask questions and contribute to a larger conversation about strategies for ensuring digital platforms support democratic values.
Participants will leave with critical insights into the complexities of AI and digital media, equipped with the knowledge to better navigate the information age without compromising democratic integrity.
This session is designed for anyone interested in the intersection of technology, politics, and society, including educators, policymakers, technologists, and the general public keen on understanding the future of democracy in the digital era.
See:
* Digitale Polarisatie
* When browsing videos about Dutch politics, YouTube mainly recommends video’s with the (radical) right playing the main role
Shenja van der Graaf is a digital society scholar at the Department of Communication Science at the technical University of Twente. If there is one common thread joining her research activities together, it is an interest in moments of transition and the dynamics that accompany them arising from innovations associated with information and communication technologies. Interests and expertise focus on production and consumption cultures; media (histories) and everyday life; media infrastructures; media / ICT (responsible) innovation and regulation in the public interest; and, alternative economic and governance systems.
Van der Graaf has held several research, advisory and management positions, in particular in the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Japan, and USA. In various positions she has served as a PI on major grants and consulted with public and private entities, such as OECD, European Commission, UN, Turner Networks, and Microsoft. Her expertise has also been shown and translated into various lectureships, (board) memberships and publications. In this capacity, she has been committed to exploring how greater understanding of media systems can inform and assist citizens, scholars and policymakers in Europe and abroad to advance campaigns for technological literacy, creative expression, social justice, and human rights.
Before joining the BMS faculty, van der Graaf was Principal Researcher at imec-SMIT, VUB leading the Unit ‘Data Governance & Communities’ (former ‘Smart Cities’), where she also served as a Board member.
Van der Graaf is a graduate of Utrecht University (MA, 1999), Leiden University (Postgrad, 2000) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (PhD, 2009). She has been an honorary fellow at MIT Media Lab (ID3 Hub), a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (Harvard) and the Research Center for Information Law (University of St. Gallen), a consulting researcher at Convergence Culture Consortium (MIT), an alumna of the Oxford Internet Institute (Oxford), and worked as consultant for Hakuhodo Inc. in Tokyo.