President Biden summarized it well in his address to Silicon Valley in May, "What you're doing has enormous potential and enormous danger." Our partners at the Alliance for Peacebuilding have recently released a brief titled "Designing AI for Conflict Prevention & Peacebuilding," shedding light on the pivotal role AI plays in shaping the future of our democracy.

The potential for AI in peacebuilding is remarkable. It offers tools that can bridge divides, translating for mass dialogue to facilitate real-time conversations, ultimately fostering social cohesion. However, this immense promise is matched by significant risks. Misinformation, deep-fake videos, civil liberty violations, trust erosion in institutions, censorship, discriminatory algorithmic biases, and the potential for economic job loss due to AI automation are among the challenges we face.

The Alliance for Peacebuilding highlights that Congress can play a vital role by mandating a comprehensive AI strategy encompassing both foreign and domestic policy. While Congress has acknowledged AI's societal impact, it has yet to address its role in international conflict prevention explicitly. They present an urgent call for regulation.

Last week, Issue One submitted a public comment to the FEC, focusing on one immediate AI-related risk: deceptive generative AI in political campaign ads. This issue is not theoretical; it's already happening.

Writing for the Fulcrum, Kevin Frazier presents a unique idea to address these concerns - "Put AI on the ballot." He suggests a national advisory referendum on how to regulate AI, ensuring the public has a direct say in this critical matter rather than leaving it solely in the hands of Congress.

In a glimmer of bipartisanship, Citizen Data's latest Data for Democracy report indicates that an increasing majority of Americans, including 60% of self-identified Democrats and 70% of Independents and Republicans, now recognize the potential of AI to spread false or misleading information that could influence our democratic processes.

We have a collective concern, and an opportunity to address it with bipartisan resolve. As we move forward, the question of how we harness AI's power is critical. The balance between its potential for good and the risks it poses demands our attention and careful consideration.

Featured Content

Alliance for Peacebuilding (Brief) October 23rd: Designing AI for Conflict Prevention & Peacebuilding

AllSides (Blog) October 22nd: Media Literacy Week: What is it, and why is it important?

Citizen Data (Survey) October 24th: Concern for AI’s Impact on Democracy Transcends Political Divides

Divided We Fall (Article) October 18th: Can Proportional Representation Fix Our Broken Politics?

Essential Partners (Article) October 23rd: How to Start a Hard Conversation About the Israel-Hamas War

Issue One (Public Comment) October 16th: Issue One calls on the FEC to prevent the use of deceptive generative AI in political campaign ads

Network for Responsible Public Policy (Video) October 20th: What Are Human Rights Anyway?

RepresentWomen (Brief) October 24th: Brief: Proportional Ranked Choice Voting

Unite America (Report) October 24th: Alaska's Election Model: How the top-four nonpartisan primary system improves participation, competition, and representation

Podcasts & Videos

DaviesContent (How Do We Fix It?) October 20th: Polarization Series: The Keys to Good Conflict

The Democracy Group (Democracy Decoded) October 23rd: Keeping an Eye on Ethics

The Democracy Group (The Great Battlefield) October 25th: AI and politics with Tareq and Aaron of Chorus AI

The McCourtney Institute for Democracy (Democracy Works) October 23rd: Understanding union voters

USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future (The Bully Pulpit) October 21st: Combating Antisemitism and Hatred featuring Bob Shrum, Bret Stephens, and Zev Yaroslavsky

Citizen Connect Featured Events

Peace Through Action USA (October 26th @ 7 pm EDT) Peaceful Cities

Black Women for Positive Change (October 28th @ 11 am EDT) Promoting School Safety

Braver Angels (October 29th @ 3 pm CDT) Faith and Polarization: A Participatory Afternoon

Crossing Party Lines (October 30th @ 1 pm CDT) Book Chat: Meet Author Scott Shigeoka

Network for Responsible Public Policy (November 2nd @ 7:30 pm EDT) We Need to Talk: Affective Polarization and Discussion

Featured Fulcrum Articles

Leland R. Beaumont, October 25th: Valuing intellectual honesty and DEI

David L. Nevins, October 24th: United Nations day is today

Kevin Frazier, October 20th: Put AI on the ballot

Dave Anderson, October 20th: Kevin McCarthy’s downfall may lead to a new center for America - The Fulcrum

In The News

Election Reformers Network (Law360) October 16th: Ballot Measure Fights Spilling From Voting Booth Into Court

Issue One (MSNBC) September 28th: ‘Democracy is on the line’ in 2024 says AZ Secretary of State

MWEG (Deseret News) October 17th: Can Mormon Women for Ethical Government strike the right balance?