Democracy Under Attack: Challenges of Addressing Ethical Issues of AI and Big Data for More Democratic Digital Media and Societies

Abstract

The potency and potential of digital media to contribute to democracy has recently come under intense scrutiny. In the context of rising populism, extremism, digital surveillance and manipulation of data, there has been a shift towards more critical approaches to digital media including its producers and consumers. This shift, concomitant with calls for a path toward digital well-being, warrants a closer investigation into the study of the ethical issues arising from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data. The use of Big Data and AI in digital media are often incongruent with fundamental democratic principles and human rights. The dominant paradigm is one of covert exploitation, erosion of individual agency and autonomy, and a sheer lack of transparency and accountability, reminiscent of authoritarian dynamics rather than of a digital well-being with equal and active participation of informed citizens. Our paper contributes to the promising research landscape that seeks to address these ethical issues by providing an in-depth analysis of the challenges that stakeholders are faced with when attempts are made to mitigate the negative implications of Big Data and AI. Rich empirical evidence collected from six focus groups, across Europe, with key stakeholders in the area of shaping ethical dimensions of technology, provide useful insights into elucidating the multifaceted dilemmas, tensions and obstacles that stakeholders are confronted with when being tasked to address ethical issues of digital media, with a focus on AI and Big Data. Identifying, discussing and explicating these challenges is a crucial and necessary step if researchers and policymakers are to envisage and design ways and policies to overcome them. Our findings enrich the academic discourse and are useful for practitioners engaging in the pursuit of responsible innovation that protects the well-being of its users while defending the democratic foundations which are at stake.

Ethical Considerations in Data Collection and Analysis: A Review: Investigating Ethical Practices and Challenges in Modern Data Collection and Analysis

“…The ethical complexities of big data are a growing concern in the digital age, where the vast amounts of data collected and analyzed can have significant implications for democracy, individual rights, and societal norms. Christodoulou and Iordanou (2021) explore the challenges posed by the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data in digital media, particularly in the context of democratic societies. Their research highlights the incongruence of Big Data and AI usage with fundamental democratic principles and human rights, emphasizing the covert exploitation and erosion of individual agency and autonomy.…”

Information Warfare and Digitalization of Politics in a Globalized World

“…For making a strong and advanced democracy, it is necessary to go beyond just regulatory normative calls for making the right decisions and create secure and safe spaces to accommodate and negotiate dissent and differing opinions. Concurring to Christodoulou and Iordanou (2021) eventually, when endeavoring to reach a compromise between ethics, digital well-being, and democracy, the focus should not be on whether the deceptive unethical practices are a result of malicious or benevolent behavior but good intentions do not reduce the harm caused.…”

“…Now, no political party, candidate, or citizen is in the field, but online. Christodoulou and Iordanou (2021) contend that digital media, by using Artificial Intelligence (AI), have manifold impacts on individuals and democratic social order. As a discipline studying internet-related transformation, digital anthropology covers an entire range of modern social manifestations, phenomena, political opportunities, structural violence, injustice/disparities, the refashioning of how people access, understand, behave, create, and spread a message, conceivable outcomes, and the threats emerging from digital engagements and the association among technology and culture, online cultural settings that can't be inferred from physical-world sociality and consequential rationales and logics of selfhood and culture.…”

“…All these led to the commencement of a new 'digital culture' governing the digital in a period of online platforms with political, legal, financial, societal, and ethical confrontations of these changes. Christodoulou and Iordanou (2021) contend that digital media's strength and support to enhance law-based democracy has as of late come under strong scrutiny. Amidst rising populism, radicalism, digital surveillance, and data manipulation, a shift has occurred towards critical approaches to digital world media, its consumers, and producers.…”

An AI ethics ‘David and Goliath’: value conflicts between large tech companies and their employees

“…It sent a strong message to the AI ethics community: 'AI is largely unregulated and only getting more powerful and ubiquitous, and insiders who are forthright in studying its social harms do so at the risk of exile' (Simonite 2021). Thus, some have viewed the Google controversy as an example where the current 'means and modes of negotiating disagreement are neither successful, nor constructive' (Christodoulou and Iordanou 2021). The cases of Gebru and Mitchell pose the question of how much freedom AI practitioners have to integrate their ethical values when there are larger structural and organisational interests involved?…”