15 March 2024
Brazilian Judges Regulate Elections … and AI
Brazil has new regulations on AI and election interference. Also, in Brazil, the judiciary oversees elections. As municipal elections are coming up, we face a quite unique situation of technological challenges, untested laws, and unusual institutional arrangements. Although innovative, these regulations are constrained in their effectiveness and indifference to broader regulatory debates concerning the regulation of AI, showcasing an uncomfortable relationship between judicial and legislative powers regarding digital policy in Brazil. Disregarding the complexity of AI, the regulations legitimise the expansion of the judicial branch's power to deal with digital threats to democracy while not fully engaging with how these threats materialise through the development and use of AI. Continue reading >>
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15 December 2022
Articulating Legitimacy through Policy Recommendations
On 6 December, Meta's Oversight Board issued a policy advisory opinion on 'cross-check', a content moderation system used by the company to avoid the erroneous removal of content shared by highly influential users on its platforms. Despite the opinion’s directness in calling Meta out for the disproportionate attention paid to corporate interests to the detriment of its human rights commitments, the OB’s decision presents an underlying duplicity, as it criticises policy and design choices replicated in the OB’s own architecture. This curtails the institution's capacity to enhance accountability and legitimacy. Continue reading >>
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