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Thursday Seminars by Alvaro Oleart and Philippe Braquenier
Why AI Technosolutionism Harms Democracy and Deliberation
Abstract
Technology has recently entered the scene of deliberative democracy, both as a subject of deliberation and as a way to improve deliberative processes. The hegemonic position in this debate within the deliberative democracy community appears to be that, while it is not a bulletproof solution, technology—and more specifically AI—holds the potential to make deliberation and democracy better. The article takes stock of the latest developments in relation to technology and deliberation, focusing specifically on the European Citizens’ Panels and Google’s Habermas Machine. We argue that the current trend is characterised by technosolutionism, and that introducing technology as a ‘solution’ to ‘fix’ some of the ‘problems’ within the deliberative democracy community reinforces its depoliticisation and disintermediation. Deliberative technosolutionism moves the discussion away from the systemic desirability of minipublics, sidelines a mass politics conception of democracy, and leaves unquestioned the political economy of AI. By contrast, democracy needs to be oriented towards mass politics and collective actors rather than reproducing the narrow conception of democracy and deliberation upon which minipublics are built.
Bio:
Alvaro Oleart is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science and the Institute for European Studies of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. His research focuses on the relationship between political conflict and democracy through a decolonial lens in the context of the European Union by analysing the discourse in the European public spheres, citizen participation processes, political parties, the media, civil society and transnational social movements from both an empirical and normative perspective. He is the author of the books “Framing TTIP in the European Public Spheres: Towards an Empowering Dissensus for EU Integration” (Palgrave, 2021) and “Democracy Without Politics in EU Citizen Participation: From European Demoi to Decolonial Multitude” (Palgrave, 2023).
Democracy Under the Dark Enlightenment: Art, Photography and the Erosion of Democratic Institutions
Abstract
This session brings together artistic practice and political inquiry in the framework of the Democracy Lab residency co-organised by Ohme and BrIAS.
Philippe Braquenier will open with a presentation of his artistic practice and methodology, and will then present NRx, his new project currently in development. Taking Curtis Yarvin’s neo-reactionary “Dark Enlightenment” philosophy as a critical framework, NRx examines the state of democratic institutions in Brussels, the capital of Europe and a symbolic heart of the progressive West. Through black-and-white photography and video, Braquenier documents sites of democratic fragility as a means of making visible the slow erosion of the structures and values that underpin democratic life.
This talk is an open invitation to dialogue. In the framework of his residency, Braquenier is seeking to connect with BrIAS fellows whose research intersects with questions of democratic backsliding, institutional trust, political theory, and civic culture.
Bio
Philippe Braquenier is a Belgian visual artist based in Brussels. Fascinated by knowledge – how it is collected, used, shared and stored, his work explores our obsession with information at a time when data is becoming ever more omnipresent yet increasingly invisible. With a restrained and impassive perspective, he connects these ideas to broader questions of evolution, heritage, and the precarious nature of the digital revolution.
He holds a Bachelor in photography from the HELB and worked in the advertising industry until 2016. Since his shift to artistic practice, he has exhibited at the Aperture Foundation in New York, the Belgian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2018), and the JIMEI x Arles International Photo Festival, among other institutions and galleries. He was a finalist for the Louis Roederer Discovery Award at Les Rencontres d’Arles in 2020.