How can generative AI strengthen democracy rather than undermine it? For the first of AHCD's new monthly research seminar, Clarie Alspektor will present the Democratic Commons research programme, a collaborative initiative led by Make.org, Sciences Po, Sorbonne University, and CNRS. Selected as one of seven winners of Bpifrance’s “Digital Commons for Generative AI” call, this two-year project brings together over 50 experts in data science and the social sciences to design open, ethical, and transparent AI tools for democratic participation.
The programme experiments with generative AI to summarize political debates, support citizen contributions, break linguistic barriers, and facilitate large-scale discussions. Tested through Make.org’s civic platforms, the research links real-world citizen engagement with academic inquiry. Supported by an international supervisory board of leading figures in AI and democracy, the project aims to set new global standards for responsible AI in democratic life.
Join us to learn how this ambitious initiative seeks to reconfigure the relationship between citizens, technology, and institutions in times of democratic uncertainty.
Speaker bio: Clarie Alspektor works as Head of Research Projects at Make.org, where she coordinates the Democratic Commons global research Programme, alongside 50 engineers and multidisciplinary researchers from SciencesPo Paris, Sorbonne University and CNRS. This groundbreaking initiative aims to develop open source AI applications safe for democracy.
An Ecole Normale Superieure alumni with a strong social sciences research background, she previously worked as Head of Research for British NGO Airwars, documenting civilian harm allegations in Iraq, Syria, Gaza, Yemen, Libya, Ukraine and Somalia. Prior to that, Clarie was a Middle East researcher at the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless People and a member of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) Iraq Experts group. She also worked for international NGOs ACAPS and ACLED on armed conflicts in the Middle East and Western Africa.