NAS Lecture Series: The Digital and The Political

Dr. Nils Hoffmann, Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Transformation and Digitization | Mainz & North American Studies Program | University of Bonn:
We are currently witnessing the merging of digital and analogous worlds. In this new media framework, the development of generative AI and the increasing political power of Silicon Valley pose fundamental challenges for the upcoming U.S. election. In his lecture, Dr. Hoffmann interrogates the close interrelation between the digital ecosystem and the future of democratic discourse. In the light of the rightward shift of Silicon Valley politics, considered a “rise of techno-authoritarianism” by some commenta-tors, as well as the potential for disinformation offered by generative AI, the U.S. political system is, so Dr. Hoffmann argues, utterly unprepared for the impact of technology's latest advances on electoral proceedings.