The internet was initially seen as a tool that could revolutionize democracy by simply getting and connecting people online. While it alone doesn’t directly create democratic revolutions, it remains highly valuable to enhance access to information, foster free expression, and connect communities in ways that support democratic values. Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be viewed as a transformative tool, comparable in significance and value to the internet, for strengthening democracy. It provides innovative avenues for accessing and understanding information that matters to us, and the democratic values that we believe in and that need to be appreciated by making them more personalized, accessible, and interactive. AI-driven tools can simplify complex topics, help citizens engage with democratic processes, and promote informed decision-making. These capabilities can amplify the principles of democracy – transparency, inclusivity, and accountability – by empowering individuals with knowledge and enabling broader participation in governance.
The notions were expressed by the vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the director of ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation, Mr. Daniel Castro during the round table discussion titled Empowering Democratic Governance through Technology/ AI and Media Freedom, organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad in collaboration with the Public Diplomacy Section of U.S. Embassy Islamabad.
Castro noted that it is very important to understand how emerging technologies like AI should be regulated, at what level, and who gets to regulate. For instance, if the US regulates the development of an AI model that Pakistan is using, that could mean rules being put into place that are exclusive of the voices of Pakistani citizens in shaping them. At the same time, if the US does not do anything in terms of the regulation of the use of technology globally, it could lead to the release and use of technology in ways that could be harmful to Pakistan. Therefore, a shared global responsibility is of paramount importance, and the bigger picture and the long-term use of technology require balance where the real focus should be on allowing countries to focus on regulating the use of these technologies. What makes this ever more significant is the fact that different countries have different perceptions about values, free speech, and where to draw lines of that, and they have different ways of representing their citizens’ interests. While we must respect the fact that these are sovereign countries with their mandate for setting rules relevant to their local context and realities, we have to recognize that these technologies are going to have huge applications for global citizens.
In terms of how we can, as a matter of shared responsibility, shape technology in ways that will be useful, we must realize that the technology/ AI itself is just a tool which can be used for both good and bad purposes; either empowering citizens, creating economic opportunities, encouraging free speech or ways contrary to democracy. All this boils down to the fundamental question what kind of society we want to live in.
He said that just like we need to be engaging with those who are developing policies in democracies, similarly, when it comes to technology, we need to be engaging with those who are developing it and share with them how it is impacting us.
Castro said that we also need to empower the companies who are building AI tools, to build the type of AI tools that we want, that are valuable to and represent us by creating high-value data sets that they can use to train their AI model. No company can create an AI model that is useful without data that is about us and people with similar backgrounds. So, when they design these AI models based on the learning from the data, the model will be relevant to our aspirations and questions, and be able to respond to them in a fair and accurate way.
In his message to the policymakers in Pakistan, he said that right now they should understand the data-driven, technological innovation that leads to economic progress in society; that is what they need to be invested in for the future and right now the technological innovation is around AI, internet and connectivity. We need to have high-speed connectivity for people and make sure they have seamless access to the best available online services and AI that they can use to create something new and innovative, sell products and services globally, access remote jobs; we need to invest into the computing resources to make use of AI.
Just like governments had to invest in roads and electricity in the past, the digital economies today require us to be invested in digital infrastructure as a way to build an enormously prosperous future that empowers citizens with not just better GDP but a better standard of living for everyone.
The discussion was participated by members of academia, civil society, media and technology experts.