IN3’s Communication Networks & Social Change (CNSC) research group is pleased to invite you to the Seminar: «(Dis)empowering AI? Power, artificial intelligence, and democratic participation», given by Francesco Nasi, PhD candidate in Sociology at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Bologna and Research Visiting at the CNSC.
The seminar will be held, in hybrid format, on Wednesday, January 29 at 10:00 am (CET) in Room C1.19 of the Interdisciplinary R&I Hub (Building C).
Venue
Interdisciplinary R&I Hub (Building C - Room C1.19)
Rambla del Poblenou, 154
08018 Barcelona
Espanya
When
29/01/2025 10.00h
Organized by
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, IN3's Communication Networks & Social Change (CNSC) research group
Program
Abstract
This seminar will address the use of AI to support democratic participation and citizens empowerment. The rise of generative AI sparked many debates about its impact on democratic systems, with concerns ranging from misinformation and erosion of human autonomy to new forms of social control. Other aspects of the relationship between AI and democracy have received less attention, such as the potential of AI for empowering citizens, boosting participation, and creating new forms of political agency. Addressing this issue is particularly important in a time where discontent with democratic systems is growing and technology seems increasingly pervasive. AI can be integrated into democratic practices in many ways, such as using machine learning tools to analyze crowdsourced opinions, facilitate deliberative discussions, and generate consensus on public policy issues. The talk will examine the dual and paradoxical role of this technology in both empowering and disempowering citizens. Drawing on a Foucauldian understanding of power, as well as the work of scholars such as Clarissa R. Hayward and Barbara Cruikshank, the talk will critically analyze how these technologies may simultaneously open new avenues for political participation while constraining individual agency and reinforcing existing power dynamics.
Francesco Nasi
PhD candidate in Sociology at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy. His research focuses on democratic innovations, new technologies, imaginaries, and power dynamics, with the aim of addressing how to build a more democratic society in an era of democratic malaise. His doctoral thesis examines the role of artificial intelligence in fostering participatory democracy and democratic empowerment. He is currently a Visiting Researcher in the Technopolitics unit of the CNSC (Communication Networks and Social Change) group at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and a scholar in the Europaeum Scholars Programme, led by the University of Oxford. Before beginning his PhD, he worked with Italian think tanks such as CeSPI (Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale) and ISPI (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale). He also serves as a City Councilor in his hometown, Albinea, and as an advisor on citizen participation for the municipality of Reggio Emilia, Italy.