Proposal

APrIGF 2022 Session Proposal Submission Form
Part 1 - Lead Organizer
Contact Person
Mr. Arzak Khan
Email
Organization / Affiliation (Please state "Individual" if appropriate) *
Innovation for Change (I4C) South Asia
Designation
Regional Hub Manager
Gender
Male
Economy of Residence
Pakistan
Primary Stakeholder Group
Civil Society
Part 2 - Session Proposal
Session Title
Artifical Intelligence and Democracy in South Asia
Session Format
Panel Discussion
Where do you plan to organize your session?
Onsite at the venue (with online moderator for questions and comments from remote participants)
Specific Issues for Discussion
The Innovation for Change (I4C) South Asia aims to tackle major ethical challenges posed by AI, from facial recognition to voter profiling and the ongoing discourse about how AI powered social media platform will impact democracy in South Asian countries. The intersection of social media, political participation, and AI presents new challenges for both the tech sector and society as a whole in South Asia. As new technologies and new forms of media emerge, existing models of governance including democracy are being challenged. New informational technology fundamentally rewires societies and technology’s effect on governance cannot be underestimated. Coupled with disintermediation, a truth crisis and a perception crisis are emerging, amplified by the persuasive power of new AI applications that can lead to a paralysing information asymmetry that threatens democracies. Our panel will look at the emerging challenges amplified by AI and how to tackle this important issue impacting civic spaces and democracy across South Asia.
Describe the Relevance of Your Session to APrIGF
This session would help address the debate on AI’s impact on the public sphere which is currently the one most prominent and familiar to a general audience. It is also directly connected to long-running debates on the structural transformation of the internet and trust for people’s fundamental freedoms and rights online. As we set to enter the dawn of AI and related technologies we must set in place rules and frameworks which will ensure AI will not be used to undermine democracy across South Asia and ensure that we do not allow the use of AI for undemocratic practices such as mass surveillance, mass social scoring by the state, or discrimination on basis of cast, color, creed or biased algorithmic decision making. The panellist will share experience from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka on the impact of AI on democracy and civic spaces. Also, the speakers would cover issues like shaping public opinion on social media platform and impact of AI algorithms on democracy and political movements in South Asia. Speakers will deliberate and share new learning on using ethics framework and guidelines for inclusion and improving trust in AI based platforms
Methodology / Agenda (Please add rows by clicking "+" on the right)
Time frame (e.g. 5 minutes, 20 minutes, should add up to 60 minutes) Description
5 Minutes Introductions
10 Speaker 01
10 Speaker 02
10 Speaker 03
10 Speaker 04
15 Q&A
Moderators & Speakers Info (Please complete where possible)
  • Moderator (Primary)

    • Name: Remshary Ahmed
    • Organization: Innovation for Change
    • Designation: Advocacy Officer
    • Gender: Female
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Pakistan
    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed
  • Moderator (Back-up)

    • Stakeholder Group: Academia
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed
  • Speaker 1

    • Name: Arzak Khan
    • Organization: Innovation for Change
    • Designation: South Asia Lead
    • Gender: Male
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Pakistan
    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed
    • Link of Bio (URL only): www.arzakkhan.com
  • Speaker 2

    • Name: Senel Wanniarachchi
    • Organization: Hashtag Generation
    • Designation: Founder
    • Gender: Male
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Sri Lanka
    • Stakeholder Group: Technical Community
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed
  • Speaker 3

    • Name: Radikha Jhalani
    • Organization: SFLC
    • Designation: Advocacy Specialist
    • Gender: Female
    • Economy / Country of Residence: India
    • Stakeholder Group: Private Sector
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed
  • Speaker 4

    • Name: Sarim Aziz
    • Organization: Facebook
    • Designation: Public Policy Head
    • Gender: Male
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Pakistan
    • Stakeholder Group: Academia
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Invited
Please explain the rationale for choosing each of the above contributors to the session.
Arzak Khan works on AI and cyber security, he has expertise on designing and implementing AI based systems for digital identity management programs across South Asia.
Remshay Ahmed is a broadcaster and communication expert with I4C and moderator.
Senel Wanniarach is founder Hashtag generation founded in June 2015 in order to fill the vacuum that exists in terms of meaningful youth civic and political participation in Sri Lanka.
Radikha Jhalani is a legal counsel and expert on internet shutdown and its impact on civic spaces and democracy.
Sarim is head of Facebook Asia pacific and he works on countering disinformation, shaping public opinions on the platforms while working with governments to ensure democracy is strengthened by creating favourable policies.
Please declare if you have any potential conflict of interest with the Program Committee 2022.
No
Are you or other session contributors planning to apply for the APrIGF Fellowship Program 2022?
No
Number of Attendees (Please fill in numbers)
    Consent
    I agree that my data can be submitted to forms.for.asia and processed by APrIGF organizers for the program selection of APrIGF 2022.