Democracy in the Age of Algorithms (paid event)

As artificial intelligence reshapes how information is created, distributed, and consumed, democracies face new and evolving challenges. In this upcoming program, Valerie Wirtschafter, fellow in Foreign Policy and the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at Brookings, will examine how AI-driven technologies, algorithms, and new media ecosystems are transforming the global information space and testing democratic resilience. Drawing on her research and expertise, Valerie will explore subjects such as foreign influence operations, AI-generated content, and the role of platforms in shaping political discourse. Wirtschafter will also discuss the ways that policymakers, institutions, and tech companies can respond to democratic erosion while harnessing emerging technologies responsibly in an era of rapid digital change.

Valerie Wirtschafter is a fellow in Foreign Policy and the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative. Her research falls into two thematic areas: (1) democratic resilience and democratic erosion; and (2) artificial intelligence, technology, and the information space, often with a regional focus on the Western Hemisphere. Using a data driven approach, Wirtschafter’s work has helped to reframe discussions around underexplored media and novel challenges to the information space, provided new tools and methods for academic and policy research, and reshaped policy at leading tech companies.

Her academic and policy research utilizes novel data-driven strategies and methods to explore the reach of foreign influence operations, impact of content moderation and algorithms, and scope of AI generated content across the new media information ecosystem, including social media platforms, search engines, and podcasting. She also regularly authors commentaries on contemporary politics in Latin America. Her research has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, PBS NewsHour, BBC, Reuters, the Associated Press, and elsewhere.

Wirtschafter also oversees the adoption of data science methods and emerging technologies across Brookings. In this capacity, she co-led the development of Brookings’s recently adopted provisional principles for the use of generative AI, an innovative piece of work that is helping set the standard for the use of generative AI across the think tank space.

Wirtschafter received her doctorate in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2021. She has designed and taught courses on international politics in the digital age and lectures on the role of data-driven analysis for policy research. Prior to her doctoral training, she worked as a researcher focused on Latin America at the Council on Foreign Relations and as a consultant focused on global health and development issues in Brazil.

Registration site: https://www.irckc.org/what-we-do/irc-events-calendar/#id=10808&cid=1742&wid=2201&type=Cal

Individual seats are available for $10 each for IRC members, $15 each for non-members, and $0 each for students.

Sponsorships are available at $500, $1000, $2000.