Can Journalists Still Be Democracy’s Gatekeepers in the Age of AI?

In a pivotal year marked by significant elections across over 50 countries, including the United States, the integrity and role of journalism are in the spotlight. Villa Albertine, in partnership with the Columbia Global Paris Center, presents a thought-provoking event against the backdrop of a journalism crisis: difficulties to find sustainable economic models for media, dwindling public trust and confidence in journalistic work, and the rise of media outlets that blur the line between opinion and fact.

These challenges, coupled with the difficulty of conveying political messages in an age of division and the recent complexities introduced by artificial intelligence, underscore the critical need for strong, independent media.

As the narrative of democracies versus authoritarian regimes grows stronger yet more contested, this event brings together three experts from media and academia to debate the potential of journalists to continue serving as democracy’s gatekeepers.

Panelists

Sylvie Kauffmann, Journalist, Le Monde

Sylvie Kauffmann is a French journalist, specializing in foreign affairs. She was Editor-in-Chief of Le Monde in 2010-2011, being the first woman to hold this position. She is currently Le Monde’s Editorial Director, writing editorials and a weekly column on geopolitics. Since 2013, she has contributed to the New York Times’ opinion pages and more recently to the Financial Times. She is a regular contributor to L’Esprit Public, a Sunday show on French public radio.

Julia Angwin, Founder, Proof News, and Contributing Opinion Writer, New York Times

Julia Angwin is a longtime technology reporter who led data-driven investigative teams at ProPublica and The Wall Street Journal that were Pulitzer Prize finalists. She was also a member of a team at The Wall Street Journal that won a 2003 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of corporate corruption. Her New York Times best seller, “Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance” (2014), chronicled her attempts to evade having her data exploited. Her book “Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America” (2009) was an early look at the promise of social networks and the boardroom battles to control the emerging technology.

Anya Schiffrin, Professor, SIPA (Columbia University)

Anya Schiffrin is the Director of Technology, Media, and Communications at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a senior lecturer, who teaches on global media, innovation and human rights.  She writes on journalism and development, investigative reporting in the global south and has published extensively over the last decade on the media in Africa. More recently she has become focused on solutions to the problem of online disinformation, earning her PHD on the topic from the University of Navarra. 

Moderated by Justin Hendrix, Editor, Tech Policy Press

Justin Hendrix is CEO and Editor of Tech Policy Press, a new nonprofit media venture concerned with the intersection of technology and democracy. Previously, he was Executive Director of NYC Media Lab. He spent over a decade at The Economist in roles including Vice President, Business Development & Innovation. He is an associate research scientist and adjunct professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Journalism and Crisis

This series facilitates discussions about some of the most critical questions facing journalists and journalism today, particularly in an international context. The Columbia Global Paris Center, Le Monde, the Columbia Maison Française, and Villa Albertine invite you to join in on these vital conversations, held in New York City from April 15 to 17. Find all the dates here.