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New UNESCO-UNDP Issue Brief Highlights the Impacts of AI on Freedom of Expression and Elections
The publication examines the rapidly evolving role of AI technologies — from recommender systems to generative AI — in shaping how information is produced, disseminated and consumed, particularly during election periods. While these technologies can enhance the spread of information and promote citizen engagement, they also present challenges. These include the proliferation of disinformation, threats to privacy, and the amplification of hate speech, including and deepfakes targeting political figures.
The launch event was attended by over 240 participants, both in-person and online, to reflect on the implications of AI for freedom of expression, electoral information integrity, and democratic participation. More than 1,400 from 132 countries registered to the event to join the event and receive a recording of the session.
Available in , and , the issue brief was developed following the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Freedom of Expression, Artificial Intelligence, and Elections organized in April 2024 by UNESCO, UNDP, and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, with support from EAD DPPA. Building upon the 8,500 participants from 160 countries and experiences during the super election year, UNESCO and UNDP provided a set of findings and options for electoral stakeholders navigating the opportunities and challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) on freedom of expression during electoral processes.
and approximately 4 billion eligible voters, the ubiquity of algorithms used on digital platforms and the rise of AI holds the potential to have a growing influence on the information environment and electoral processes. In this context, all electoral stakeholders play a role in understanding the scope and the impacts of AI in the information ecosystem during the electoral cycle.
As we stand at the crossroads of technological transformation and the safeguard of electoral information integrity and democratic institutions, the governance of AI and information flows can no longer be treated as a future concern, it is a present priority.
For the design and implementation of AI to be safe, secure, trustworthy, and attentive to human rights considerations, there is a need for attention to the technology itself and the development of broad human capacities for its use and implementation.
Deciphering the increasingly complex dynamics between elections, AI, and freedom of expression is challenging and requires both multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approaches. As such, it is vital to ensure that a digital ecosystem with AI is designed with a human rights-centred approach to be safe, secure, and trustworthy, conducive to respecting freedom of expression and human rights considerations more broadly.
Furthermore, a deeper insight into the dynamics and effective strategies within the particularly politically concentrated moments of elections can provide vital lessons on how to cultivate AI’s broader potential for humanity.
