Collegium Helveticum
Switzerland
fellow
Urike Klinger
2023-2024
Home institution
European University Viadrina, DE
Country of origin (home institution)
Germany
Discipline(s)
Information and communication sciences
Theme(s)
Artificial Intelligence; Democracy, Citizenship, Governance; Digital Society
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Ulrike Klinger’s research focuses on the impact of digital technologies on democracy and public spheres from theoretical and empirical perspectives, for instance, election campaigns, discourse dynamics, social bots, populism, and propaganda. Her most recent book is Platforms, Power, and Politics: An Introduction to Political Communication in the Digital Age (Cambridge, 2023), co-authored with Daniel Kreiss and Bruce Mutsvairo.
Ulrike is Professor of Digital Democracy at the European New School of Digital Studies at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) in Germany and an associated researcher at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society in Berlin. During her time in Zurich, she will be a visiting professor at the Department for Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich. She was an assistant professor of Digital Communication at Freie Universität Berlin (2018–2020) and a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) at the University of Zurich (2009–2018). Among her recent fellowships are the Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles (2024) and the University of California at Santa Barbara (2017 and 2021).
Research Project
Democracy, Election Campaigns, and Artificial Intelligence
The year 2024 will be a super election year, not only in the US or the EU. Never before have so many people been called to vote around the world. At the same time, the next frontier for political communication research is already here: the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Political parties already post artificially generated images on social media. Are democracies ready for this new campaigning tool?
This project seekts to conceptualize the challenges that rest in the combination of generative AI’s massive automated content production with the distributive superpowers of platforms. Social media platforms enable such content to circulate unchecked and reach massive audiences quickly. Studies have shown that false information travels faster, deeper, and further on social media platforms, especially false political information. However, how AI will play out in campaigning depends not only on the technology but also on how parties and society at large decide to play this game and how to set the rules for it. AI requires us to become critical thinkers who are able to doubt seemingly authentic images, videos, and even voices.
Research Interests:
Voting; political communication; artificial intelligence; AI; false information