How does artificial intelligence affect democracy?
Research Areas
The Future of Democracy
We study how artificial intelligence influences the future of democracy, how digital democracy can evolve in both the short and long term, and what types of knowledge are needed to support political decision-making and good governance.
Misinformation and Communication Capture
We investigate how AI is used to create and spread false information in ways that threaten democracy. Our research maps citizens’ vulnerabilities to disinformation, misinformation, and other digital threats, and develops methods to detect communication capture, weaponization, and related risks.
Generative AI and Hallucinations
We explore how language model hallucinations affect information environments. Our work examines types of hallucinations, their causes, and implications for the acceptable use of AI systems. We aim to develop scalable methods for detecting and mitigating hallucinations in large language models (LLMs) used in public services.
Transparent and Inclusive Synthetic Speech
Machines are not humans – and they don’t need to be. We study how synthetic speech can be designed to be transparent, trustworthy, and to support human interaction. Our goal is to develop speech synthesis that avoids imitating humans and instead fosters new, sustainable ways of human-machine communication.
Communication and Cognition
We examine how people assess speaker credibility and the certainty of information in social interaction. We are particularly interested in how speech prosody (intonation and melody) relates to perceived trustworthiness and certainty, and how factors like aging affect the ability to detect misinformation and disinformation.
Digital Democracy: Governance, Ethics, and Tools
We research both the opportunities and risks associated with digital governance. We explore how AI-based technologies can enhance citizen participation and deliberation while avoiding pitfalls such as manipulation, the spread of false information, and adversarial uses of AI.
Project background / Overview
The project is led by Anna-Mari Wallenberg, University Lecturer and Docent in Cognitive Science, at the Department of Digital Humanities, University of Helsinki.
AIdemoc is funded by the Strategic Research Council (SRC). Operating under the Academy of Finland, the SRC funds high-quality scientific research that is of major societal relevance and impact. The aim is to find concrete solutions to complex challenges that require a multidisciplinary approach.
Funding decision: https://tiedejatutkimus.fi/fi/results/funding/81898
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