Presenting our recommendations  for the European Democracy Shield

Alexis Prokopiev, Director of Governance & Democratic Innovation Team at Make.org, and Vice-President of ACTE, participated in the public hearing of the Special committee on the European Democracy Shield (EUDS) to present Make.org’s and European Democratic Shield task force’s contributions to the debate on AI Governance, regulation, and democratic safeguards in the European parliament.

Make.org’s position is clear, we urgently need to counter incursion of AI-generated content, malicious use of AI, and spread of information manipulation that are threatening democratic processes in Europe. We can see such content having more and more impact on elections and democratic institutions. Moreover, we shall aim to use the power of AI to counter disinformation and other AI-generated harmful content online.

“We urgently need to counterattack the disinformation and malicious use of AI with regulation, meaningful governance, and innovations in order to create strong democratic safeguards. The European Democracy Shield is a good opportunity for it.” - Alexis Prokopiev, Make.org

We had the opportunity to present to the MEPs, members of the EUDS committee but also committees on Civil Liberties (LIBE) or Internal Market (IMCO), our recommendations on how to safeguard democratic processes through AI governance and regulations. The present MEPs - among others: Christel Schaldemose (S&D), Michael McNamara (Renew), Eszter Lakos (EPP), Ana Catarina Mendes (S&D), Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D), Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (Renew), and Helmut Brandstätter (Renew) - also had the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers and further investigate in their propositions and recommendations.

Make.org’s recommendations

On the international level, it is crucial to establish a strong global multistakeholder AI governance, and develop the practice of sharing standards, democratic principles, and evaluation methods for safe and responsible AI. That is why Make.org launched the “AI for Democracy - Democratic Commons” research project whose objective is exactly to bolster the evolution of European artificial intelligence tools.

Therefore, we believe that at the European level:

• We must not oppose regulation and innovation. It is necessary to strike a balance between providing market security and being flexible enough to react to technical developments. The EU institutions should cooperate with civil society and together leverage meaningful action. 
• The EU must lead by example in public procurement. Therefore, 10% of the increase in European defense spendings should be allocated to the resilience of democratic societies, innovation in citizen participation and European ethical and democratic AI models and tools. 
• European actors shall build strong innovative AI governance together. Using research and inputs from civil society is a way to create new and powerful digital solutions. 
• We shall clearly define democratic safeguards for Generative AI together in cooperation with civil society and academia, multiplying initiatives like the Democratic Commons research project.
• Under the EUDS framework, we should consider further support for digital tools that enhance both pre-bunking and fact-checking strategies using the power of AI, to prevent the spread of disinformation.
• We shall always aspire to improve the connection between citizens and the institutions in the decision-making process, which also applies to the European Democracy Shield.

You can further consult our recommendations drafted by the Democratic Shield Task Force, a coalition of diverse actors representing civil society.

“AI also creates opportunities that we need to harness to protect and reinforce our democracy. We may think about fast detection of disinformation, easier access to complex information for citizens, enhanced dialogue between citizens, and overall improved connection between institutions and citizens” - Alexis Prokopiev, Make.org

European Democracy Shield, more than a Commission’s Communication?

To achieve a meaningful impact, the European Democracy Shield should aim to be more than a ‘Communication’ from the pen of the European Commission. Exactly a year ago, in her Statement at the European Parliament Plenary, Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen said : “the Commission will propose a European Democracy Shield. The EU needs its own dedicated structure for countering foreign information manipulation and interference.” We hope that the Members of the European Parliament will follow this ambitious engagement and the “dedicated structure” will be created.

We would like to thank the Chair of the Special Committee, Nathalie Loiseau (Renew), for allowing us to share our insights on the important topic of governing Generative AI in relation to our democratic systems. We are thankful for the questions the MEPs had asked us, we shall use them to further reflect on the issue. We hope that we will be able to contribute to the EUDS Special Committee’s tremendous work in the future as well.

“We need to continue the conversation with tech experts, but also philosophers, lawyers, and everyone who has a stake in protecting our democracy. [...] AI is not good or bad, it depends on what we do with it, and our responsibility as legislators is quite broad.” - MEP Nathalie Loiseau, Chair of the EUDS Committee

You can RE-WATCH Make.org's contribution here, at 11h36m20s. The visual support for our recommedatios ncan be found here.