KT4D’s Digital Democracy Lab

Blue background with purple, teal and white graphics depicting people in a city engaging with technology. From the Knowledge Technologies for Democracy (KT4D) project.

Do you think you can datafy democratic processes?

Join the Digital Democracy Lab at Beta for a hands-on workshop to explore how we can ensure that both people and democracy stay in the loop in AI systems.

Date: 13 November 2024 at 18.30 – 20.30

Location: The Digital Hub, Thomas Street, Dublin 8

The workshop will offer an interactive environment to apply your technical skills to critical questions of AI governance. Participants will have the opportunity to influence best practices for integrating AI into democratic processes and democratic stewardship of AI systems.

During the interactive session, you will:

  • Gain hands-on experience with the KT4D Digital Democracy Demonstrator (DDD), including backend access, to understand its architecture and features.
  • Deepen your understanding of “meaningful / trustworthy frictions” and their role in ensuring democratic stewardship of AI systems.
  • Engage in a creative challenge to design and prototype meaningful frictions for specific areas of the DDD, pushing the boundaries of human-AI collaboration.
  • Collaborate to tackle the complex balance between system efficiency, trustworthiness, and democratic values in AI development.
  • Contribute directly to improving AI-enabled democratic concerns by proposing innovative friction implementations.
  • Gain insights into the societal implications of AI in democratic processes.

 

The image is a promotional flyer for *KT4D's Digital Democracy Lab @ Beta Festival* to be held on **13 November 2024** from **18:00 to 20:30** at **The Digital Hub, Thomas Street, Dublin 8**. The workshop aims to explore the challenge of keeping both the human element and democracy in the loop of software design, expanding the limits of current approaches to ethical AI development through conversations, examples, and co-creation. ### Key topics covered in the workshop: - Exploration of the **Digital Democracy Demonstrator (DDD)** from a technical perspective. - Understanding **"meaningful/Trustworthy frictions"** and their role in the democratic stewardship of AI, as well as Democracy-in-the-loop technologies. - Hands-on activities to propose and prototype friction implementations. - Collaborative discussions on balancing system efficiency, trustworthiness, and democratic values in AI. The flyer includes a QR code linking to the registration form for participants to sign up. Partner organizations mentioned: - **Trinity Long Room Hub** (Arts & Humanities Research Institute), - **Democratic Society**, - **Beta Festival**, - **ADAPT**. The event is funded by the **European Union**, and social media links for KT4D are provided (X: @KT4Democracy, LinkedIn: /company/kt4ddemocracy).

The image is a flyer for *KT4D: Knowledge Technologies for Democracy* that explains how the project aims to leverage rapidly changing knowledge technologies to foster more inclusive civic participation in democracy. ### Key Goals: KT4D will develop tools, guidelines, and a **Digital Democracy Lab** demonstrators platform. These will be validated across three user scenarios: 1. **Building capacity** for citizens and citizen-facing Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). 2. **Creating regulatory tools** and services for Policy and CSOs. 3. **Improving awareness** on designing ethically and mindfully for democratic principles in academic and industrial software development. ### Project Validation: The project will be validated through four **Use Cases**, each in a different city, targeting various groups: - **Use Case #1:** Regulatory tools & services for Policy and CSOs. - **Use Case #4:** Improving self-awareness in academic and industrial software development. - **Use Cases #2 & #3:** Capacity-building services for citizens and citizen-facing CSOs. Cities hosting the Use Cases: Brussels, Madrid, Warsaw, and Dublin. The flyer also includes a QR code to join the KT4D community at **kt4democracy.eu** and provides social media links (X: @KT4Democracy, LinkedIn: /company/kt4ddemocracy). Partner logos include **Trinity Long Room Hub**, **Democratic Society**, **Beta Festival**, and **ADAPT**. The project is funded by the **European Union**.