The FÖPS Berlin was represented with a contribution “Deepfake-based disinformation” by Anna Louban and Milan Tahraoui at the Global Meeting of the Law and Society Association, which took place at the ISCTE University of Lisbon in Portugal from 13 to 16 July 2022. The head of their research project FAKE-ID, Prof. Dr. Hartmut Aden, also chaired a panel on “Independent Police Oversight” at this meeting.
On 13 – 16 July 2022, the Global Meeting of the Law and Society Association took place at the ISCTE University Institute of Lisbon in Portugal. The theme of the annual meeting was “Rage, Reckoning, & Remedy”. Over 4,000 experts from the disciplines of law, sociology and political science gathered on-site and online to present current research findings to an interdisciplinary audience.
Milan Tahraoui and Anna Louban (from left)
Based on the AI-related projects FAKE-ID and Viking (project lead: Prof. Dr. Hartmut Aden & Prof. Dr. Sabrina Schönrock), the researchers Anna Louban and Milan Tahraoui presented first analyses on the topic of deepfakes in political contexts. Current international case studies of the dissemination of political disinformation through real deepfakes and videos that were intended to appear as such – fake deepfakes – were discussed. The extent to which current and future legal regulations are suitable tools for dealing with the phenomenon of deepfakes in society was presented, among other things, on the basis of the draft regulation on artificial intelligence (“AI Act”) presented by the European Commission on 21 April 2021. In addition, the fundamental challenges of operationalising ethical and legal requirements for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods in police applications were discussed.
Hartmut Aden at the presentation
In the panel by Prof. Dr. Hartmut Aden with the topic Independent Police Oversight: Towards International Standards?, interdisciplinary research projects from the USA and South Africa, among others, were presented, which dealt with the respective special structures of the police and the difficulty of establishing structures to control the working methods of the police. In this context, Roman Thurn reported on the results of the already completed FÖPS project MEDIAN (project management: Prof. Dr. Hartmut Aden & Prof.in Dr. Sabrina Schönrock), which dealt with the opportunities and risks of using new technologies for police usage.
Heat warning
Even though the technology could not always withstand the persistent heat wave in Portugal’s capital, this year’s annual conference of the Law and Society Association once again proved to be a wonderful opportunity for professional exchange and to strengthen the BSEL/FÖPS network internationally.