Tech for Democracy

Technological developments, particularly in Artificial Intelligence, are currently challenging democracies in a new way. Safeguarding democracy in the face of eroding online social networks and increasing disinformation in the context of armed conflicts is also a “tech issue.” With the project “Tech for Democracy – German-Israeli Research Initiative on Digital Democracy,” we want to learn from the different contexts and develop solutions with application-oriented information systems research. Israeli civil society, for example, shows how technological applications and data science methods can strengthen democracy. At the same time, both countries are particularly affected by the dark side of digital attacks, such as disinformation and cybercrime. At the heart of the project is a study trip to Israel and a concluding conference in Berlin, which guests from both countries will attend. In the long term, the project will establish sustainable inter- and transdisciplinary ties between researchers and experts from the technology sector. The aim is to support the democratic development processes in both countries and create a permanent platform for exchange between Baden-Württemberg and Israel in the field of applied computer science research.