How harmful is GenAI around elections? Will it trigger a misinformation apocalypse and upend elections? I am happy to finally be able to share @Sacha_Altay’s & my answers to these and other questions on which we have been working for a year and which is out via @knightcolumbia.

@amyross87 @BalliolOxford Many, many thanks to to all attendees for their great contributions. Daniel Patiño Quintana deserves a special mention for the terrific layout and graphic design. ➡️ Find the full report here as a PDF: https://t.co/BICeG38GBz

@amyross87 @BalliolOxford And some of the questions we were left with:

@amyross87 @BalliolOxford It turned out to be a day of lively discussions. Our report (which should not be read as a piece of research!) summarises the main themes that emerged during the symposium and outlines a list of open questions to address in future research and discussions. Some key takeaways:

@amyross87 @BalliolOxford Funded by the Balliol Interdisciplinary Institute and supported by Amy Ross Arguedas as our rapporteur and Michelle Disser we had a great group of academics and expert practitioners in the room – with a few panellists to stimulate the discussion which was otherwise free-flowing.

@amyross87 This May, Linda Eggert and I brought together a group at @BalliolOxford to discuss what we should make of AI agents: what they are, mean for the world for work, how they should be governed, and what we should think about them in the context of information, news, and democracy.

🚨 📖 Final output for this year: I am thrilled to present the summary report from our summer symposium "Reckoning with AI Agents", co-authored with @amyross87 and Linda Eggert. ➡ https://t.co/BICeG38GBz

This! One of the frustrating things about discussions around AI and errors is that many people have the baseline assumption that “people will always do it better than AI” — but that’s usually a (sometimes now wrong) assessment based on vibes than actual hard evidence.

@PrincetonUPress @FitzcarraldoEds @carlbfrey @summerfieldlab @Sacha_Altay A very happy Christmas to you all from Oxford and happy reading🎄 https://t.co/q9ZJkjB1z8

@PrincetonUPress @FitzcarraldoEds @carlbfrey @summerfieldlab @Sacha_Altay Another addition this year, two recommendations for Christmas Donations: I have given to Wikipedia and the WebArchive because I believe in their mission and think they are worth defending ( https://t.co/1KgKi2wjlB & https://t.co/j1EqParE3P )

@PrincetonUPress @FitzcarraldoEds @carlbfrey @summerfieldlab @Sacha_Altay … and makes a sweeping evidence-based case why some of the arguments we see around AI’s impact on elections and democracy are problematic. https://t.co/gfjmzbsp0k

@PrincetonUPress @FitzcarraldoEds @carlbfrey @summerfieldlab Instead of Christmas albums, I've added my favourite piece of writing: “Don’t panic (yet): Assessing the evidence and discourse around generative AI and elections” co-written with @Sacha_Altay came out with the Knight First Amendment Institute earlier this year…

@PrincetonUPress @FitzcarraldoEds - How Progress Ends, @carlbfrey, 2025, Princeton University Press - These Strange New Minds, @summerfieldlab, 2025, Viking

These made the cut for the article: - On Truth in Politics, Michael Patrick Lynch, 2025, @PrincetonUPress - Shame & A Man’s Place, Annie Ernaux, 2023, @FitzcarraldoEds - AI, Automation, and War, Anthony King, 2025, Princeton University Press

At this point an annual tradition: a list of my favourite readings in 2025. To see who made the cut, follow the link or see the thread below. https://t.co/q9ZJkjB1z8

Powersätze Deutsche Ski-Kommentatoren: “Edeltechniker” “Da kämpft er” “Mehr Druck auf dem Außenski” “Da ist viel Zeit liegengeblieben” “Er fährt eine ganz feine Klinge”

We’ve already asked some of the smartest minds in the industry, now it’s your turn to give us your take. PS: No, you don’t have to work in news to take part. PPS: No, we don’t plan to compete with the excellent @NiemanLab Read theirs, they are much broader and out now!

@halhod Overall, looks like we are seeing three responses broadly: collaboration, confrontation and co-existence (to cite Nielsen & Ganter's "The Power of Platforms"), although it would be interesting to map (quantitatively) which one is currently winning out.

@halhod Of course, Disney might be in a better bargaining position than many publishers because they have something (characters) that lots of people actually want, which isn't always the case for other content, including news.

These deals remind me of @halhod’s argument three years ago that he should expect a concord between copyright holders and AI developers. Well, we see the signs of this in the news, but also in the media and entertainment sector https://t.co/hVytotkp4P

@Marina__Adami I’d be surprised if this figure hadn’t risen further by this time next year. Find the full newsletter here, with lots of other nuggets, articles and studies on AI that Marina and I have been reading: