On the occasion of World NGO Day, the Council of Europe's Conference of International NGOs, bringing together representatives of civil society organisations enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe, held a public interactive and hybrid event "Civic Space, Democracy and Artificial Intelligence: how do they intersect?"
Among the speakers were the founder of the World NGO Day, Marcis Skadmanis; the President of the Conference of INGOs Gerhard Ermischer; and the Head of the Democratic Institutions and Freedoms Department Irena Guidikova. The participants discussed one of the great challenges of our time, the potential impact of artificial intelligence on democracy and human rights, and the role that citizens and NGOs should play in the current debate on AI. This is a major theme for civil society and for the Council of Europe which is currently elaborating a convention on artificial intelligence. Francesca Fanucci, Representative of the Conference of INGOs at the Committee on AI (CAI) spoke about how to best involve civil society into such drafting work.
