talkDemocracy & power concentrationTechnical and institutional challenges

Practical steps towards democracy fit for a world with AI

7 July 2026 · 02:30 pm–02:55 pm · Refectory

AI poses significant governance challenges, including risks of power concentration, collective action failures, disempowerment pressure, and degraded information environments. In this talk I'll argue that strategic use of democratic processes — including deliberative processes, like citizens' assemblies — can help address these challenges, and that Australia can and should lead in such governance innovation.

Speaker

Luke Thorburn
Research Fellow, AI & Democracy Foundation
Luke Thorburn is a computer scientist working on sociotechnical questions at the intersection of AI and conflict. He is a Research Fellow at the AI & Democracy Foundation, which works to ensure democratic systems are fit for a world with AI, and is affiliated with MIT, ANU's MINT Lab, and Harvard's GETTING-Plurality Network. His work spans institution design, democratic AI governance, societal impacts, and the use of AI in peace processes.

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