Authoritarian regimes have gone to great lengths to subjugate the internet and disenfranchise what had been seen as “liberation technologies” to maintain their power and control. States such as Russia, China, and Iran, have blocked websites and social media and used shutdowns, digital surveillance, and bandwidth throttling to suppress civil society and independent media. Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to further amplify efforts toward digital control by facilitating the manipulation of discussions both domestically and internationally. Notably, China and Russia have already actively utilized AI in mass surveillance, censorship, and disinformation campaigns.
In this online discussion, we will examine the role of digital authoritarianism. How stable is it and how much of a threat does it pose to Western societies? We will also assess the policies that the EU and United States have in place to counter its consolidation and spreading.
Speakers:
Svenja Hahn, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe Group
Julien Nocetti, Associate Fellow in the Russia / Eurasia and the Geopolitics of Technologies Centers, French Institute of International Relations (Ifri)
Adrian Shahbaz, Vice President of Research and Analysis, Freedom House
Chair:
Alena Epifanova, Research Fellow in the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Please register via events@dgap.org. Participants will be able to ask questions via Zoom’s question and answer function during the discussion. You will find information related to data processing at https://dgap.org/en/zoom.
Please note that this event will be recorded.
