Democracy, AI and Big Tech: Assessing corporate activities in the advancement of Artificial Intelligence in the UK, US and Canada (AIDEMOCRACY)

Lead-PI: Lina Dencik, Goldsmith’s, University of London

Consortium: Victor Pickard, University of Pennsylvania; Joanna Redden, Western University

Funders: NSF, SSHRC, UKRI

 

Summary:

The role of Big Tech in the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the central questions for the future of democracy, governance and trust. With a focus on the role of Big Tech, this project will explore how AI strategies are shaped and what this means for democracy, governance and trust through a multi-method, interdisciplinary and transnational comparative study. Assessing corporate influence through a combination of computational and qualitative methods across policy, government, media and civil society within the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, the project will uncover the role that corporations play in animating AI’s growth in key established democracies. Moreover, by showing alternative framings and engaging with a range of stakeholders to discuss ongoing findings, the project will explore avenues for intervention to foster democracy, governance and trust.