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The AI-Mediated Public Sphere

The European Polarisation Observatory (EPO) and the Open Institute for Digital Transformations of Sciences Po are organizing a series of events on May 18 and 19, 2026. These events will bring together speakers from various disciplines and countries, as well as stakeholders from the digital industry and regulatory sectors.

Event

Campus Sciences Po

The European Polarisation Observatory (EPO) is one of CIVICA’s first research hubs. Its goal is to foster interdisciplinary research and mutualize resources for the study of phenomena at the intersection of public opinion, politics, and digital technologies, translating results from research to regulatory and policy communities.

The Open Institute for Digital Transformations of Sciences Po aims to re-examine the digital world through the lens of the social sciences, drawing on historical, economic, legal, sociological, and political analyses to understand and explain the transformations brought about by digital innovations, and to grasp how technologies reflect the desires and anxieties of our societies.

On May 18 and 19, the EPO and the Open Institute for Digital Transformations are organizing a series of events: 

Social, Linguistic and Political Dynamics in Social Media Platforms, 18 May, 14:00-17:15, Sciences Po Paris

Program:

14:00-14:30: Introducing the European Polarisation Observatory - Nicolò Cavalli and Pedro Ramaciotti

14:30-14:55: Data Donation for Polarization Research: Challenges & Opportunities - Elisa Omodei (Central European University, Austria)

14:55-15:20: Sequential Belief Updating: applications to misinformation and political agency - Korhan Koçak (IE University, Spain)

15:20-15:45: Socioeconomic patterns in online text and how to use them - Marton Karsai (Central European University, Austria)

15:45-16:10: Social Science without Generalization - Drew Dimmery (Hertie School, Germany)

16:10-17:15: Round table: Bridging social science and platform regulation - Marton Karsai, Elisa Omodei, Korhan Koçac, Drew Dimmery

Details and registration

Interrogating Platform Power, 18 May, 18:00-20:30, Sciences Po Paris

Program:

18:00-18:10: Welcoming by the Scientific Director of Sciences Po - Paul-André Rosental

18:10-18:30: Sciences Po’s students research - students from PSIA, School of Public Affairs

18:30-19:30: Round table: Interrogating platform power - Henri Verdier (INRIA Foundation), Anastasia Stasenko (Pleais), Antonio Calleja-López (Decidim), Andrew Perrin (Johns Hopkins University), moderated by Jen Schradie (Centre for Research on social Inequalities, Sciences Po)

19:30-20:15: AI & Cultural Hegemony - Ethan Zuckerman (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)

Details and registration

AI in the Public Sphere, 19 May, 9:00-18:00, Sciences Po Paris

Program:

Session 1: How technology impacts politics (and vice-versa)

9:30-10:00: Welcome address: presenting the Institute and EPO -  Jean-Philippe Cointet and Pedro Ramaciotti (médialab, Sciences Po)

10:00-10:25: AI‑Generated Political Content & Voter Responses - Sanne Kruikemeier (Wageningen University)

10:25-10:50: The Effects of TikTok “Edits” on Evaluations of Politicians - Kevin Munger (EUI)

10:50-11:15: Human-AI co-evolution - Janos Kertész (Central European University)

11:15-12:15: Round table: Platforms, algorithms, and new influence campaigns - Jonne Kamphorst (CDSP, Sciences Po), Vlad Bujdei-Tebeica (SNSPA), Sanne Kruikemeier, Paul-Antoine Chevalier (Tech-Ops Bureau, Viginum)

Session 2: When political preferences get learned 

13:30-13:55: What Is The Political Content in LLMs? - Tanise Ceron (Bocconi University)

13:55-14:20: From Sense to Reference: Personal Identity in Large Language Models - Paul Bouchaud (CNRS-Sciences Po)

14:20-14:45: Individualizing a systemic problem: The effectiveness of transparency as a tool to manage risks from AI - Stephan Lewandowsky (University of Bristol)

14:45-15:10: Results from EPO: How do algorithmic recommenders learn and leverage political opinions? - Pedro Ramaciotti (médialab, Sciences Po)

15:10-16:10: Round table: Regulating algorithms: mandates and practices - Fabien Tarissan (CNIL, France), Stephan Lewandowsky, Erik Wetter (Stockholm School of Economics), Artur Bogucki (Warsaw School of Economics), Tanise Ceron

Session 3:

Teaching and researching with AI

16:40-17:05: Forming computational social scientists in the era of generative-AI - Jon Cardoso-Silva (London School of Economics)

17:05-17:30: Scenarios for academic publishing in the age of AI - Kevin Munger (EUI)

17:30-18:00: Round table:

Teaching and researching with AI
- Kevin Munger, Korhan Koçak (IE University), Jon Cardoso-Silva, Ethan Zuckerman (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)

18:00: Cocktail

Details and registration