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SUMMARY:AI and the Democratic Information Environment - Helen Margetts (Un
 iversity of Oxford)
DTSTART:20260128T150000Z
DTEND:20260128T160000Z
UID:TALK240250@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Yara Kyrychenko
DESCRIPTION:Like social media\, AI has been widely associated with democra
 tic decline\, particularly in relation to the democratic information envir
 onment. Researchers point to the dangers posed by hyper-personalized AI co
 ntent\, AI-powered disinformation\, political extremism and polarisation\,
  declining trust in democratic institutions and a possible weakening of th
 e state’s information capacity. At the same time\, evidence is emerging 
 that generative AI models can be helpful in improving democratic interacti
 on (Summerfield et al\, Costello et al\, 2025\, Tessler et al\, 2024\, Lan
 demoore\, 2023). \n\nThis talk examines some early evidence on the effects
  of AI on the democratic information environment. It reports research and 
 introduces new projects on political persuasion\; use of AI in the public 
 sector\; the nodality and legibility of government in the age of AI\; info
 rmation exchange between government and citizens\;  trust in AI as an info
 rmation source\; and competitive pressures for public attention. It also d
 raws on the speaker’s work on ‘Digital Era Governance’ (Dunleavy and
  Margetts\, 2006\, 2023\, 2024 and forthcoming in 2026). It proposes a res
 earch agenda for monitoring and measuring the democratic effects of AI goi
 ng forward.\n\n
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Department of Psychology\, Downing
  Site\, Cambridge
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