Social Shifts
Torture, Moral Disengagement, and the Psychosocial Dynamics of Migration Deterrence View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jamal Barnes
Even though torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (CIDT) is prohibited absolutely under international law, it continues to occur worldwide. This is particularly the case when it comes to the torture and CIDT of migrants and refugees. As people on the move migrate to new countries, they endure brutal forms of treatment at the hands of state officials and non-state actors. Although many scholars have shown how migration deterrence policies are making migrants and refugees more vulnerable to torture by securitising borders, closing migration routes, and undermining human rights protections, what has not been adequately explored are the psychosocial dynamics that enable state actors to justify, legitimise, and promote these policies in the face of so much human suffering. Drawing upon social psychology, this paper examines how moral disengagement has been crucial in not only maintaining migration deterrence policies but in perpetuating and condoning the torture of migrants and refugees. Focusing on content and document analysis of Hungarian migration deterrence policies, this study shows how moral disengagement helps actors ameliorate and suppress the moral dilemmas that result from engaging in the torture of others, allowing actors to harm others and continue to live with themselves. Exploring the psychosocial dynamics of migration deterrence policies sheds new light on the factors that are contributing to the torture of people on the move as well as build interdisciplinary bridges between social psychology, international relations, and international law to help identify factors that inhibit conformity with the international international law.
Social Media and Social Movements
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lee Artz
Social media understood broadly as on-line communication sharing user-generated content has been interpreted as responsible for the rise and reach of diverse social movements, from the Arab Spring (2010-2012) and the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong (2014) to contemporary white supremacists and also the mass resistance to racist police violence in the US (2014-2020). However, despite the hopeful assertions of social media power, the actual impact of social media has been more difficult to verify. The promise of increased democracy has been limited by corporate and government control over public access to social media, while recent criticisms of social media generating “fake news” and disinformation have rubbed some of the gloss off the promise of technological solutions to political problems. This contribution briefly unpacks the impact of corporate control before turning to an assessment of social media use by the nascent social movement coalesced around the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
Ethics of Hybrid Intelligence: Navigating the Convergence of Human and Artificial Decision-Making in IoT-Enabled Digital Societies View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Haris Alibašić
This paper examines the ethical implications of hybrid intelligence systems within increasingly connected digital societies. As Internet of Things (IoT) devices proliferate and AI systems become more sophisticated, complex human-AI collaborative decision-making environments emerge.The research investigates the ethical frameworks that govern these hybrid intelligence systems, mainly focusing on autonomy, accountability, and integrity in big data-driven societies.Research Questions: How do hybrid intelligence systems challenge traditional notions of moral agency and responsibility in digital societies? What ethical frameworks are most appropriate for governing human-AI collaborative decision-making in IoT-enabled environments? How can we ensure equitable access and fair representation in hybrid intelligence systems while protecting individual privacy and autonomy? This research builds upon three primary theoretical foundations: Distributed moral responsibility in socio-technical systems, Human-in-the-loop artificial intelligence ethics, and Integrity in algorithmic decision-making.The paper synthesizes these perspectives to develop a novel framework for understanding the ethical implications of hybrid intelligence in digital societies.The research employs a Qualitative analysis of existing hybrid intelligence implementations in smart cities and case studies of ethical challenges in IoT-enabled decision-making systems. This research aims to develop a comprehensive ethical framework for hybrid intelligence governance, identify key challenges and opportunities in implementing ethical guidelines for human-AI collaboration, propose practical recommendations for policymakers and system designers, and advance theoretical understanding of moral agency in hybrid intelligence contexts.The research addresses the conference's focus on AI, ethics, and order in global society by examining the intersection of human and artificial intelligence in digital environments, shaping social order and ethical frameworks in contemporary society.
Exploring the Perceived Compatibility of Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Content Generation for Activism View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Seyma Esin Erben
Following the rise of AI-generated content, activists’ content creation and reproduction practices have begun to transform. However, it remains noteworthy that research on the use of gen-AI (generative AI) in activism remains limited. This study examines the adoption of gen-AI in content production for activism within the framework of its perceived compatibility with activists' values. Designed with a phenomenological approach, this study aims to evaluate the role of generative AI in activist content production processes while also identifying the challenges and benefits associated with adopting this technology. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with animal rights activists to understand their perspectives on gen-AI adoption. The interview questions were adapted from the study conducted by Avcı-Yücel and Koçak-Usluer (2016) on the factors influencing perceived compatibility in the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) based on Rogers' definition of perceived compatibility. According to the research findings, animal rights activists evaluate AI based on its practical benefits in content production. Key advantages of AI include fast access to information, quick information scanning, and rapid content creation. However, they also raised concerns about AI reproducing mainstream cultural discourses, particularly those reflecting speciesist and sexist biases. Additionally, most interviewees expressed ecological concerns regarding the high energy consumption of generative AI. Despite these concerns, they continue to use the technology, albeit with a sense of contradiction.
