Details
12:30 - 13:30. Lunch follows.
In-person Venue: Room 00.308, Schwarzman Centre
Remote: The connection link will be sent to registered attendees (usually the day before the event).
These sessions will run fortnightly during term time. A new form will need to be completed for each seminar so that you receive the relevant joining instructions.
Abstract
This talk critically examines the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on elections. Despite concerns about AI enabling more efficient and effective voter targeting and persuasion, as well as more effective misinformation and disinformation, I argue that the influence of AI on election outcomes is – for now – overestimated. This talk identifies several factors behind this overestimation: the inherent challenges of mass persuasion, the difficulty of reaching target audiences in oversaturated media environments, and the limited effectiveness of AI-driven microtargeting in political campaigns. Additionally, the socio-economic, cultural, and personal factors that shape voting behaviour challenge simplistic assumption about an outsized impact of AI on electoral behaviour. While acknowledging AI’s risks, such as amplifying social inequalities or as a source of information, this talk argues that focusing mainly on AI may distract from more structural threats to elections and democracy, including voter disenfranchisement and attacks on election integrity.
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Dr Felix Simon
Dr Felix M. Simon is the Research Fellow in AI, Information, and News at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, a Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), and a Junior Research Fellow in Politics, all at the University of Oxford. His research broadly looks at the implications of a changing news and information environment and questions of epistemic health for democratic discourse and the functioning of democracy. Since 2019, his work has focused on various aspects of AI in news, information, and the public sphere, with a special emphasis on its use and reception, people’s trust in and attitudes towards AI, and the shifting power dynamics between the news and the technology sector. More recently, he has worked on AI’s role in misinformation and democracy. His research and commentary frequently appear in international media, among others, in The New York Times, The Guardian, Politico, and the Financial Times. He regularly writes and comments on technology, media, and politics for various international outlets, including as a monthly columnist for Nikkei and advises media organisations and tech companies on AI. Felix holds a DPhil and MSc from the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute and a BA in Film and Media Studies from Goethe-University Frankfurt. He is a faculty associate at the Public Tech Media Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and affiliated with Columbia University’s Tow Centre for Digital Journalism. For more: https://www.felixsimon.net/.