Late November, REMIT’s researcher from Luiss Guido Carli University, Flavia Lucenti, represented both the project as well as her academic home institution at the European University Institute conference in Florence. Flavia has put together an article about her experience – thank you very much, Flavia!
“I participated in the conference Understanding and Addressing Digital Inequalities, held at the European University Institute in Florence on 20–21 November and organised by the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, and the Centre for a Digital Society.
I took part in Parallel Session 7B – Digital Democracy and Digital Authoritarianism (Chair: Danielle Borges; Discussant: Konrad Bleyer Simon), which included the following presentations:
- Parallel digital worlds: restrictions on anti-censorship tools as an emerging authoritarian norm – Patryk Pawlak & Nils Berglund
- Bridging Regions, Aligning Values: AI Governance and Democratic Innovation in Europe and East Asia – Flavia Lucenti
- Online self-moderation in response to regime repression – Kristina Aleksandrovna Pedersen & Joshua A. Tucker
I presented my paper “Bridging Regions, Aligning Values: AI Governance and Democratic Innovation in the EU, ROK and Taiwan.” Selected through a competitive review process, the paper compares the emerging normative models of AI governance in the European Union, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan.
It first underscores how Korea and Taiwan—while remaining commercially competitive and technologically dynamic—have become leaders in democratic innovation, promoting public participation and value-driven regulatory approaches. This is contrasted with the EU’s human-rights-centred AI governance model, exemplified by the 2024 EU AI Act and grounded in principles of dignity, privacy, civil rights, and transparency.
The comparative analysis explores how democratic identities and cross-regional ties shape regulatory models and highlights potential avenues for future cooperation in developing ethical and innovation-friendly AI frameworks.”
