Democracies today face profound challenges, including the proliferation of fake news and online disinformation, the rise of digital authoritarianism and digital fascism, the big tech monopolies of online platforms such as Google, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon, WhatsApp, ChatGPT, etc., post-truth and algorithmic politics, the danger of a new world war, political polarisation, the breakdown […]
AI companion bots are reshaping how people connect, confide, and cope, with children and adolescents among their most active users. Even as evidence of their potential social and developmental harms grows, these products face limited regulatory oversight. On May 26, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings will host a conversation on whether AI companion […]
Generative AI is changing how misinformation is produced, circulated, and perceived. What does the evidence tell us specifically about this cycle, opportunities to mitigate it, and what we don’t know yet? The IPIE is pleased to invite you to our upcoming webinar, presenting findings from our major new meta-analysis drawing on studies that involved more than 33,000 participants. […]
The GLOBAL SUMMIT ON DISINFORMATION is a space for global interaction where journalists, researchers, academics, fact-checkers, media and government representatives, civil society organizations, professors, and students meet annually to discuss, and present actions, proposals, and success stories on the challenges of fighting disinformation at the global level. Learn more and register to attend here. Note: […]
Article 38 of the EU Digital Services Act could be described as a masterpiece of legal drafting – 57 words to say very large online platforms must provide a version of their service not based on profiling. Meta provided a sludgy, unusable option. In the absence of action from the European Commission, Dutch NGO Bits […]
In the late nineteenth century, the U.S. government and American corporations generated an unprecedented amount of paper records. The data complex emerged as a national network of repositories built to house all those documents. Over the next several decades, the data complex expanded from traditional archives and libraries to bombproof bunkers and securitized data banks. […]
The DSA establishes a hybrid enforcement framework. The European Commission holds exclusive competence to supervise and enforce DSA obligations on Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs). National authorities — Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) — handle all other intermediaries established in their territory. This centralized exclusive competence creates a real […]
How does our world change when artificial intelligence produces content faster than we can verify it? The Fake News Festival brings together science, practice, and the public to examine disinformation, artificial intelligence, and the future of our information society from diverse perspectives. In keynotes, lectures, and workshops, experts from research, media, politics, and civil society discuss how AI is changing the creation and spread of fake news, what risks and opportunities […]
As generative AI rapidly reshapes classrooms around the globe, educators and decisionmakers are grappling with a major concern: How can generative AI be used to help, not harm, teaching and learning? What is the role of technology in the classroom? This past January, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings released the report “A new […]
With companies like OpenAI taking Pentagon contracts and Elon Musk using government resources to scrape Americans’ data, it’s hard to feel that there are any tangible ways to resist the techno-fascist backslide. To regain a sense of social agency, we are convening a participatory conference inspired by the Luddite movement. We will tackle questions such […]
Can European software built on cheap Chinese AI models be trusted? As open-source model families like Alibaba’s Qwen surge in global popularity, an increasing number of international developers are quietly integrating them into their tech stacks. However, this cost-effective accessibility may come with a significant hidden vulnerability: the systematic embedding of Chinese propaganda into core […]
The WSIS Forum serves as the central multistakeholder convening platform mandated to advance the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines and support global digital cooperation. Anchored in the renewed UNGA mandate, the Forum brings together governments, the private sector, civil society, technical communities, academia, youth, and international organizations in a uniquely inclusive environment for dialogue, […]
In this talk, Dr. Möllers parses the current debate on technofascism(s) to develop a materialist understanding of technofascist formations from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and anti-colonial perspectives. She demonstrates that a focus on materiality highlights both the ordinariness and global/planetary dimensions of contemporary technofascist formations. She argues that a materialist understanding of technofascist formations […]
The company Pangram has built the leading product for detecting if purportedly human-written words were actually generated by machines. Their work was among the first to publicly prove the novel “Shy Girl” was largely written by AI, and the book was eventually pulled from store shelves. Pangram has also identified reams of AI-assisted content on […]
AI slop—low-quality, mass-produced content created by generative AI—is increasingly permeating the digital environments that young children encounter during what is the most critical period for their development and lifelong well-being. As concerns grow about the potential effects of AI slop on young children, questions are also emerging about the incentives that drive its creation and […]
The International Conference for Computational Social Science (IC2S2) will be hosted by the Vermont Complex Systems Institute at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont from July 28-31, 2026. IC2S2 has emerged as the dominant conference at the intersection of social and computational science, bringing together researchers from around the world in sociology, economics, political science, psychology, cognitive science, […]
The JournalismAI Strategy Lab is expanding, and this time we’re heading to Latin America. We’ve had a great response from the LATAM community over the years, and we’re excited to be launching a programme built specifically for the region and taught entirely in Spanish. Who should apply? Journalists and media professionals ready to move from […]
Hype, hope, disappointment. Hype is the rhetoric of tech billionaires, of VCs, of tech-pushers, of AI boosters and AI doomers. Hype is about attention, grabbing it, holding it. Hype is about resources, gathering them, directing them. Hype is about control. Tech hype is a problem for our society and our schools. It points our time, […]
AI agents have begun to move from speculative promise into everyday deployment. They translate high-level goals into plans and carry them out across connected digital environments. Agent builders often promise that users will remain in control through approval prompts and pause buttons. Yet these safeguards work only when users can recognize a mistake and intervene […]
Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Information Democracy & Social–cybersecurity (IDeaS) is hosting a conference focused on policy challenges emerging from the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and digital platforms. Advances in AI systems, shifts in platform governance, and the scale and speed of online communication are transforming how information is produced, distributed, and consumed. At […]
AI is reshaping visual storytelling. Tools that generate, edit and synthesize images, video and data visualizations are moving faster than the field can track. There are no industry standards, few documented cases and a lot of open questions. So instead of waiting for policy, we are going to jumpstart the conversation and start prototyping. Join […]
“The University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication is seeking to fill a tenure-track assistant professor position in Media Industry Studies to begin the fall semester of 2027. We are seeking a productive researcher, engaged scholar, and committed teacher/mentor who studies critical approaches to media industries and their intersections with media policy, political economy, advertising, […]
Time, focus and community for your research on the societal impact of digital transformation A fellowship at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) provides the freedom to dedicate yourself to your research and the opportunity to join a vibrant interdisciplinary community. Step away from daily work routines to gain new perspectives and build lasting […]
“Data & Society seeks a post-doctoral research fellow for AI-Enabled Scams as a Systemic Security Challenge, a two-year project housed under our AI & Democracy initiative and led by Director of Research Dr. Alice Marwick. The position is fully remote, begins September 2026, and runs through May 31, 2028. Apply by July 15, 2026.”
Since 2020, health professionals as creators and influencers has exploded. While they existed long before this date, the advent of the COVID-19 Pandemic accelerated the growth and importance of health influencers/creators. Health professionals now hold an important place in wellness and online communities but often are disregarded in the broader literature or in traditional health […]
The AI Civic Action Accelerator is a free, 6-session, part-time program that helps individuals and teams refine and advance promising policy solutions to civic artificial intelligence (AI) challenges. The accelerator will support early-stage projects that aim to strengthen the relationship between government, communities, and AI. We are seeking practical, community-driven ideas that help governments tackle […]
The final conference for EDMO BELUX 2.0: Based in Belgium and Luxembourg, we take the opportunity to reflect how our efforts across fact-checking, media literacy, research investigations to monitor and respond to disinformation raise resilience in democratic societies. In particular we seek to contribute policy evidence of societal threats and responses to disinformation. This conference […]
Our hopes are pinned on AI labels. AI labels are expected to help users navigate an increasingly synthetic information environment by distinguishing fact from fiction, human from machine. Beginning in August 2025, the EU AI Act requires professional users of GenAI, including journalists, advertisers, political actors, governments, and public institutions, to disclose AI-generated content. The […]
Content moderation is critical to protecting users against harmful and illegal online content, although it may also restrict free expression. Over the past two decades, platforms have increasingly turned to automation to perform content moderation at scale. First through hashing algorithms and later through predictive machine learning methods, many large platforms have automated over 90% of […]
Search Engines and Society Annual Conference (SEASON 2026) brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss the societal impact of search technologies. The conference offers keynotes, panels, workshops, and networking opportunities. Some of the themes for this year’s conference include: Political bias and elections Literacy and education AI overviews and trust Health and high-stakes information AI […]
Dramatic advances in agentic AI models are rapidly outpacing governance responses, raising profound safety concerns and even questions about the future of civilization. As these capabilities explode, the world needs guardrails to minimize AI risks while allowing humanity to reap its rewards. But who, precisely, is best placed to shape the contours of such a […]
PAIRSx Public Sector is an open one-day symposium that will be hosted at the Ada Lovelace Institute on 5th November 2026 to explore how public bodies are engaging and involving the public and civil society organisations around their adoption of AI, particularly in the UK. The PAIRSx Public Sector symposium is a spin-out event from […]
Join POLITICO in Washington, D.C. for special conversations with policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, investors and innovators crafting the rules of the road for AI and the decisions shaping its future. _____ As the development and deployment of artificial intelligence transforms the economy and society, decisions being made today by policymakers and executives will determine who […]
Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging technology — it is already embedded in hiring, healthcare, public infrastructure, and democratic processes, yet the institutions meant to govern it remain incomplete and unevenly distributed across global contexts. This webinar treats AI governance as a political and cultural question rather than a technical one: who sets the […]
“For the fourth year running, we asked experts who study the information environment what they’re seeing in their respective countries. The answer is sobering: three in four experts now expect it to worsen over the next year, the highest level we’ve recorded since the survey began. Join us on 16 September at 18:00 CEST for a virtual briefing […]
The 27th International Symposium on Journalism (ISOJ) will take place Sept. 17-18, 2026, online and in person at the University of Texas at Austin. Stay up to date with important announcements about the conference by subscribing to our newsletter. El 27º Simposio Internacional de Periodismo (ISOJ) se llevará a cabo los días 17 y 18 […]
What happens when you ask AI chatbots about a crisis or terror attack? While models are programmed to block violent content, real-world audits reveal a concerning phenomenon: “Reject then launder.” Chatbots initially condemn the violence to pass safety filters, only to immediately validate and whitewash the underlying extremist ideology in their response. Crucially, this is […]
INMA’s Media Innovation Week returns to Madrid in September 2026 — uniting Europe’s most ambitious media leaders at the intersection of data, product, audience, and revenue. Madrid will convene the people setting the pace for Europe’s news industry. Alongside established voices, you’ll hear from the innovators building what comes next — the creators rewriting engagement, […]
Social media platforms are increasingly shaped by the integration of generative AI alongside long-standing analytical and predictive models. Today’s algorithmic systems are moving from the background infrastructure to the forefront of digital social life – intervening in the content feeds as conversational agents like xAI’s Grok, reshaping identity through synthetic likenesses of OpenAI’s Sora-2, and […]
This year’s Future of Speech Online will examine the need for online anonymity, where it should or shouldn’t be compromised, the emerging and growing threats to anonymity online, and how to mitigate them. We will bring together civil society, academics, companies, practitioners and others to demonstrate how anonymity is used, how it is achieved technically, […]
The United States census, conducted every ten years, is one of the world’s oldest and biggest data-making endeavors, and one of the country’s most consequential. In her urgent new book Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census, professor, researcher, and Data & Society founder […]
Co-Opting AI: Archives will examine how archives and archiving—as infrastructure, epistemology, and social practice—relate to contemporary AI systems. The session will be recorded for those who cannot attend live – make sure to register to receive notification when the video is available to view.
From document analysis to pattern detection to verification, AI is changing how investigative journalists dive into research and how fast they can move. The question now is how to scale those skills and put them in the hands of reporters to do more accountability journalism under deadline. Join Hacks/Hackers at The New York Times for […]
The rapid diffusion of AI and the emergence of AI agents capable of independently accessing tools, initiating processes, and acting on users’ behalf may fundamentally reshape how information and economic activity are organized online. These developments are raising new questions about market power, entry, innovation, and control across the technology stack. At the same time, […]