The impacts of digitalization on society, particularly on the operation of democratic institutions, have been the subject of worldwide attention. Since societies are based on information and communication, digital technologies have a great influence on them, generating changes in all of its sectors.
This scenario highlights the role of parliaments, precisely because they are primarily responsible for producing rules that guarantee citizens can enjoy the benefits of new technologies and, at the same time, protect society from possible risks and threats arising from the various challenges caused by these technological innovations.
In view of this, considering the 200th anniversary of the Federal Senate and the crucial role of parliaments in this context, the International Seminar Democracy and New Technologies: Challenges of the Digital Age aims to promote high-level debates on the profound social transformations experienced today as a result of the widespread use of digital technologies.
March 25, 2024
9 - 10 a.m. | OPENING SESSION
10 a.m. - noon | AULA MAGNA
POLITICS IN THE DIGITAL SOCIETY. Characteristics of communication in the digital age, the risks of disinformation, the need for regulation to preserve voter autonomy and the quality of democracy.
Speaker: MANUEL CASTELLS, professor at the Universities of Southern California, Berkeley, MIT, Oxford and Cambridge and former minister of Spain.
Manuel Castells is Professor of Communication Technology and Society at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Urban Planning at the University of California-Berkeley. Castells has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oxford University and Cambridge University. Minister for Universities in the Spanish Government.
Moderator: SENADOR ROGÉRIO CARVALHO, Senator of Brazil.
Rogério Carvalho is a physician, former municipal health secretary, former state health secretary, former state deputy, Master and PhD in Collective Health, professor at the Federal University of Sergipe, former deputy in the Chamber of Deputies, current senator for the state of Sergipe.
March 26, 2024
9 - 10 a.m. | CONFERENCE 1
TECHNOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY: HOW TO GUARANTEE FUNDAMENTAL VALUES. Technical challenges to guarantee democratic values in the digital environment.
Speaker: URS GASSER, advisor to the Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University.
Urs Gasser is a professor of public policy, governance and innovative technology at the Technical University of Munich - TUM, where he serves as dean of the recently launched School of Social Sciences and Technology. Rector of the Faculty of Political Science and Public Policy in Munich. Professor of Legal Practice at Harvard Law School and, from 2009 to 2021, an advisor to the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, where he is currently a member of the board of directors.
Moderator: ALEXANDRE VERONESE, professor at the University of Brasília - UnB.
Alexandre Veronese is an associate professor of Social and Law Theory at the University of Brasilia, where he coordinates the Telecommunications Law Study Group and is an associate researcher at the Center for Policy, Law, Economics and Communications Technology. Researcher at the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence in Digital Citizenship and Technological Sustainability at the University of Minho (Portugal).
10:30 - 10:45 a.m. | COFFEE BREAK
10:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | PANEL 1
DIGITAL DEMOCRACY: LESSONS AND CHALLENGES. Optimistic and pessimistic perspectives on the effects of digitalization on the operation of democracy.
Moderator: EDUARDO MAGRANI, professor of law and affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University.
Eduardo Magrani holds a PhD in law and is affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Professor of Law and Technology at the Catholic University of Lisbon.
Panelists:
- Carlos Affonso Souza, director of the Institute of Technology and Society - ITS Rio. Carlos Affonso Souza is a professor at the Faculty of Law of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). PhD in Civil Law from UERJ. Director of the Institute for Technology and Society (ITS Rio). Visiting professor at the University of Ottawa. Researcher affiliated with the Information Society Project, Yale Law School. Universo Online (UOL) columnist.
- Christiana Freitas, professor at the University of Brasília - UnB. Christiana Freitas is an associate professor in the Graduate Program of the Faculty of Communication (FAC) and in the Graduate Program in Governance and Innovation in Public Policy (PPGIPP) at UnB. Founder and researcher of the National Institute of Science and Technology in Digital Democracy (INCT.DD in the original acronym) and also of the Research Group on Government, Administration and Public Policies (GIGAPP in the original acronym). Leader of the research group on State, Regulation, Internet and Society (GERIS in the original acronym) and a member of the Deliberative Council of the Open Knowledge Foundation Brazil. PostDoc in Public Policy and Digital Governance from GovLab, New York University (2018). PhD in Sociology of Science and Technology from the University of Brasilia and the Open University, England.
- Laura Schertel, professor at the University of Brasilia (UnB) and the Brazilian Institute for Education, Development and Research (IDP). Laura Schertel is a professor at the University of Brasilia (UnB) and the Brazilian Institute for Education, Development and Research (IDP) and a PostDoc researcher at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main. President of the Brazilian Bar Association's Digital Law Commission and director of the Center for Law, Internet and Society (CEDIS/IDP). Schertel was the rapporteur of the Senate's Committee of Jurists on the regulation of artificial intelligence. PhD in private law from Humboldt University, Berlin.
- Ricardo Campos, professor at Goethe University. Ricardo Campos is a lecturer in the areas of data protection, regulation of digital services and public law at the Faculty of Law of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (Germany). PhD and Master degree from Goethe University. Campos works with the regulation of digital services, data protection, public and regulatory laws.
12:30 - 2:30 | LUNCH
2:30 - 4 p.m. | CONFERENCE 2
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DEMOCRACY: PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE. Analysis of the past and present of artificial intelligence in order to analyze its future impacts on the pillars of democracy.
Speaker: UGO PAGALLO, professor at the University of Turim.
professor at the University of Turin.
Ugo Pagallo is a full professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Turin (Italy) and the author of 13 monographs and 100 essays in academic journals and book chapters. His main interests are Artificial Intelligence and law, network theory, governance, human-robot interaction, and information technology law.
Moderator: DORA KAUFMAN, professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo - PUC-SP.
Dora Kaufman is a professor in the Intelligence Technologies and Digital Design Program at PUC-SP. PhD in digital media from ECA-USP with a sandwich internship at the Université Paris Sorbonne IV, Kaufman has two PostDocs: at COPPE-UFRJ and at TIDD-PUC SP. Author of several books, including "Will Artificial Intelligence Supplant Human Intelligence?" and "Demystifying Artificial Intelligence". Época Negócios columnist.
4 - 4:30 p.m. | COFFEE BREAK
4:30 - 6:30 p.m. | PANEL 2
MINIMUM STATE, DEMOCRACY, LABOR AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. MINIMUM STATE, DEMOCRACY, LABOR AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Some countries maintain insufficient social safety nets in a scenario where artificial intelligence is reducing the demand for workers. Can a legion of helpless people increase extremism and put democracy at risk?
Moderator: DORA KAUFMAN, professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo - PUC-SP.
Dora Kaufman is a professor in the Intelligence Technologies and Digital Design Program at PUC-SP. PhD in digital media from ECA-USP with a sandwich internship at the Université Paris Sorbonne IV, Kaufman has two PostDocs: at COPPE-UFRJ and at TIDD-PUC SP. Author of several books, including "Will artificial intelligence supplant human intelligence?" and "Demystifying Artificial Intelligence". Época Negócios columnist.
Panelistas:
Senador Hamilton Mourão, Senator of Brazil
Hamilton Mourão is a retired general of the Brazilian Army after a long military career. He was vice-president of the Republic of Brazil from 2019 to 2022. Current senator for the state of Rio Grande do Sul and full member of the Communications and Digital Law Commission of the Federal Senate.
Gabriela Neves Delgado, professor at the University of Brasília - UnB.
Gabriela Neves Delgado is a Professor of Labor Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Brasília (UnB). Lawyer, researcher and coordinator of the Research Group for Labor, Constitution and Citizenship (UnB/CNPq). PostDoc in Global Inequalities and Social Justice from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences and its Latin American College of World Studies (FLACSO). PostDoc in Sociology of Labor from the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences of the State University of Campinas (IFCH/UNICAMP).
Juliano Maranhão, professor at the University of São Paulo - USP.
Juliano Maranhão is a professor at USP Law School, Director of the Lawgorithm Institute and the Legal Grounds Institute. Associate Researcher at the Center for Artificial Intelligence USP-IBM. Researcher at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation - Germany. Member of the Steering Committee of the International Association for Artificial Intelligence and Law.
Fabro Steibel, executive director of the Institute for Technology and Society - ITS Rio.
Fabro Steibel has a PostDoc in communication and technology. Alumnus of the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University, with a PhD from the University of Leeds in the UK. Steibel has worked at UCSD, San Diego/US, and UN University, China. Member of the National Data Protection Council of the ANPD and of the editorial board of the MIT Sloan Review Brazil. Lawyer and executive director of ITS Rio.
March 27, 2024
9 - 10:30 a.m. | Conference 3
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN: GOVERNING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND AGENTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY. Digital innovations challenge the state and the society due to their speed, complexity and power dynamics. Constitutional design marks a proactive approach to dealing with technologies and agents, such as companies, to achieve human rights, democracy, sustainability and the rule of law.
Speaker: CHRISTIAN DJEFFAL, professor at the Technical University of Munich - TUM.
Christian Djeffal is a Professor of Law, Science and Technology at the Technical University of Munich and a member of the Executive Board of the German E-Government Competence Center. PhD from the Humboldt University of Berlin.
Moderator: EDUARDO MAGRANI, professor of law and affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University.
Eduardo Magrani holds a PhD in law and is affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Professor of Law and Technology at the Catholic University of Lisbon.
10:30 - 10:45 a.m. | COFFEE BREAK
10:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Panel 3
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY IN THE TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD. How societies are dealing with issues that interfere with democratic debate, potentially distorting the will of the electorate, such as the production and programmed dissemination of fake news.
Moderator: PATRÍCIA CAMPOS MELLO, special reporter for Folha de São Paulo and commentator for TV Cultura.
Patrícia Campos Mello has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of São Paulo and a Master's degree from New York University. Research associate at Columbia University in 2020/2021, with a project to map political disinformation in the context of the 2022 Brazilian election. Washington correspondent for the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper from 2006 to 2010.
Panelists:
Senador Rogério Carvalho, Senator of Brazil.
Rogério Carvalho is a physician, former municipal health secretary, former state health secretary, former state deputy, Master and PhD in Collective Health, professor at the Federal University of Sergipe, former deputy in the Chamber of Deputies, current senator for the state of Sergipe.
Maíra Bittencourt, general director of the Brazilian Communication Company - EBC.
Maíra Bittencourt has a PostDoc in Communication from the University of Beira Interior (UBI). PhD in Communication Sciences from the University of São Paulo (USP). Professor of the Postgraduate Program in Communication and Director of Communication at the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS).
João Brant, Secretary of Digital Policies of the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of Brazil.
João Brant is the Secretary of Digital Policies of the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of Brazil. PhD in Political Science (USP), a Master's degree in Regulation and Communication Policies (LSE-UK) and a Bachelor's degree in Social Communication (USP).
Pablo Ortellado, professor at the University of São Paulo – USP.
Pablo Ortellado has a PhD in Philosophy and is a Professor of the Public Policy and Management program at USP. Coordinator of the Monitor of Political Debate in the Digital Environment.
12:30 - 2:30 p.m. | LUNCH
2:30 - 4 p.m. | PANEL 4
INTERNET AND ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS: IMPASSES AND ALTERNATIVES. The purpose of the panel is to debate the impact of the use of the internet on recent electoral campaigns in Brazil, both in terms of the benefits arising from easier access to information and the problems already perceived, particularly linked to the authenticity of content and the difficulties that weigh on the regulation of this media.
Panelists:
Marcos Carvalho, digital marketing specialist.
Marcos Carvalho is an administrator specializing in digital marketing. Co-founder of the AM4 Group, Carvalho has developed cases for clients from the most diverse segments, including successful electoral campaigns, such as the 2018 and 2022 presidential contests.
Antonio Lavareda, professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco – UFPE.
Antonio Lavareda holds a PhD in Political Science (IUPERJ) and a Master's degree in Sociology (UFPE). Visiting researcher at UC/Berkeley and is currently a collaborating professor at UFPE, president of MCI Estratégia, and president of IPESPE's Scientific Council. Consultant in the areas of polling and electoral campaigns.
Diogo Rais, professor at Mackenzie Presbyterian University – UPM.
Diogo Rais is a lawyer and co-founder of the Digital Freedom Institute. Exclusive columnist in the electoral area for the newspaper Valor Econômico during the 2016 and 2020 elections and for Folha de São Paulo during the 2018 election. Professor of Electoral Law and Digital Law at Mackenzie Presbyterian University.
Floriano de Azevedo Marques Neto, minister of the Superior Electoral Court - TSE.
Floriano de Azevedo Marques Neto is a lawyer and professor of Law at the University of São Paulo, Fundação Getúlio Vargas-RJ, Universidade Federal Fluminense-RJ, Universidade Católica de Lisboa, Portugal, Escola Superior de Negócios - ESAN, Peru, and Universidad Externado de Colombia. Marques Neto acts as an arbitrator in several mediation chambers and is currently a minister of the Superior Electoral Court.
4 p.m. | CLOSING SESSION