BRAID: Bridging AI and Democracy

Bridge Aim and Scope

Information integrity is a shared concern across computer science, social science, and law, but these communities approach it through different research paradigms. AI researchers develop methods for detecting manipulated content, retrieving evidence, and verifying claims. Social scientists, such as those in political science, examine how information environments shape public opinion, political participation, and democratic deliberation. Legal scholars investigate the rights and institutional responsibilities associated with interventions in public discourse. 

Connecting these perspectives requires more than applying technical tools to political content. Choices about what to verify, which sources to consult, and how to communicate a judgment depend on assumptions about evidence, interpretation, and authority. A system may produce an accurate verdict while overlooking relevant context or providing an unsupported explanation. An intervention may improve the reliability of individual assessments while raising concerns about unequal coverage, freedom of expression, or the concentration of decision-making authority. Conversely, democratic and legal requirements must be examined in relation to the capabilities and limitations of the systems expected to implement them. 

We propose a bridge centered on information integrity as a condition supporting democratic deliberation and informed public judgment. Its objective is to develop a shared research agenda in which computational methods and social science and legal perspectives jointly inform problem formulation, system design, and evaluation. 

BRAID · Bridging AI and Democracy
AAAI-27 Bridge Program · Montréal, Canada