WEF highlights panel on platform accountability featuring ISD CEO Sasha Havlicek

A panel ISD’s co-founder and CEO Sasha Havlicek took part in at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting was recently highlighted by the organization.  

The discussion brought together global leaders and experts to examine how bad actors use AI and social media platforms to spread false or misleading messages and stoke political tensions. 

“The algorithmic infrastructure amplifies whatever is most likely to engage you,” Sasha explained “The business model of the attention economy disproportionately amplifies the most sensationalist, the most extreme rather than the moderate.”  

Joining her on the panel were Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean, France’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs Clara Chappaz, Wall Street Journal CEO Almar Latour, and Politico founding editor John Harris. In the conversation Sasha emphasized the influence social media platforms wield in shaping public discourse.  

“It is not a free speech environment,” Sasha said. “It is a curated one, where tech giants ultimately decide what you see based on the data they collect and the money they are going to make.”  

To counter this influence, Sasha called for greater transparency from platforms—including access to data for researchers and other key stakeholders so they can “evaluate the impact of these systems on public discourse.”  

“Where authoritarian regimes respond with censorship, we must respond through sharp transparency,” she said. 

Read the full article on the World Economic Forum’s website and watch the whole panel here.