9/06/2026
In the latest series of the EAVI Conversations podcast, we explore why media and information literacy has become indispensable in an age shaped by algorithms and artificial intelligence. These conversations dive into the challenges AI poses for democracy, media freedom, education, and access to information. From the importance of explainability in AI and platform design, to the role of human agency in an increasingly automated environment, they examine what is needed to ensure that technological development serves the public interest, and how citizens, policymakers, educators, and technology developers can work towards a digital future that is centred on human values.
In this article, we revisit some of the key lessons from Season 4. From the need for long-term media literacy strategies and alternative technologies to the importance of regulation and meaningful public dialogue, these insights offer valuable guidance for building a digital future that serves democracy and human rights.
1. Media Literacy Needs a Long-Term Vision – Episode 1
As Artemiza-Tatiana Chisca explains, MIL strategies require a long-term vision. They need to be comprehensive and inclusive, involving cooperation between various stakeholders and regular assessments of their impact. They should cover all levels of education and all age groups, so that everyone in society can critically engage with information and participate meaningfully in public and democratic life.
2. User Empowerment Must Be Embedded in Platform Design – Episode 2
As Adeline Hulin points out, user empowerment needs to be embedded within digital platform governance frameworks. Platforms need to develop technologies that empower users by design, providing simple and explainable tools rather than merely training people on how to find information.
3. We Need Media Literacy More Than New Policies – Episode 3
As Murielle Popa-Fabre reminds us, what is radically important is not creating new frameworks, but making existing ones agile and technologically informed. We need enforcement more than new policies: we will not be able to protect the way we see society and the world if we do not reach a sufficient level of technological understanding and monitoring to make policies effective.
4. Regulation Is an Enabler of Innovation: A Necessity, Not an Option – Episode 4
As Virginia Dignum reminds us, there is nothing in our societies that is completely unregulated, and regulations exist for many different reasons, the most important being the need to organise our society in a way that we can all coexist while still being able to achieve our own interests and objectives. From a perspective of developing technology, if there are no rules at all, most organisations would not even dare to start, as they would have no idea whether what they are building will be successful, useful, or trustworthy. Just as we require medicines to be tested and verified before being sold, and cars to meet safety standards before reaching the road, AI systems must equally be transparent and trustworthy.
5. We Are Missing Spaces for Real Conversations – Episode 5
As Lee Hibbard highlights, we need to organise spaces in different cities to talk with people about what they are feeling, and why they talk to a machine as if it were a person. We need to empower people to think differently, to give them the strength to change the narrative and ask for what they want, rather than simply accept what they have been given or what they have been taught.
6. AI Is Not Designed for Truth, but for Engagement – Episode 6
As Giovanni Spitale and Federico Germani argue, LLMs are designed for engagement rather than truth. In an expression introduced by Emily M. Bender and colleagues in a 2021 paper, LLMs are “stochastic parrots”: they are not oracles or sources of truth, but machines producing language that sounds plausible.
7. We Have an Obligation to Put Human Beings at the Centre of AI – Episode 7
As Alexandre Le Voci Sayad urges, we need policies that keep humankind at the centre of technological development. The last word and decision must always be made by a human. Whatever the future of AI may bring, we need to be prepared to protect human rights through public policy.
8. Bans Are Not Protection, Media Literacy Is – Episode 8
As Elizabeth Milovidov stresses, when we ban or restrict things, young people simply find other ways around them, such as VPNs and less regulated apps. Our job as parents and educators is to make sure that children understand the importance of critical thinking skills to become digital citizens and navigate online environments confidently and safely.
Related Posts
9/06/2026
In the latest series of the EAVI Conversations podcast, we explore why media and information literacy has become indispensable in an age shaped by algorithms and artificial intelligence. These conversations dive into the challenges AI poses for democracy, media freedom, education, and access to information. From the importance of explainability in AI and platform design, to the role of human agency in an increasingly automated environment, they examine what is needed to ensure that technological development serves the public interest, and how citizens, policymakers, educators, and technology developers can work towards a digital future that is centred on human values.
In this article, we revisit some of the key lessons from Season 4. From the need for long-term media literacy strategies and alternative technologies to the importance of regulation and meaningful public dialogue, these insights offer valuable guidance for building a digital future that serves democracy and human rights.
1. Media Literacy Needs a Long-Term Vision – Episode 1
As Artemiza-Tatiana Chisca explains, MIL strategies require a long-term vision. They need to be comprehensive and inclusive, involving cooperation between various stakeholders and regular assessments of their impact. They should cover all levels of education and all age groups, so that everyone in society can critically engage with information and participate meaningfully in public and democratic life.
2. User Empowerment Must Be Embedded in Platform Design – Episode 2
As Adeline Hulin points out, user empowerment needs to be embedded within digital platform governance frameworks. Platforms need to develop technologies that empower users by design, providing simple and explainable tools rather than merely training people on how to find information.
3. We Need Media Literacy More Than New Policies – Episode 3
As Murielle Popa-Fabre reminds us, what is radically important is not creating new frameworks, but making existing ones agile and technologically informed. We need enforcement more than new policies: we will not be able to protect the way we see society and the world if we do not reach a sufficient level of technological understanding and monitoring to make policies effective.
4. Regulation Is an Enabler of Innovation: A Necessity, Not an Option – Episode 4
As Virginia Dignum reminds us, there is nothing in our societies that is completely unregulated, and regulations exist for many different reasons, the most important being the need to organise our society in a way that we can all coexist while still being able to achieve our own interests and objectives. From a perspective of developing technology, if there are no rules at all, most organisations would not even dare to start, as they would have no idea whether what they are building will be successful, useful, or trustworthy. Just as we require medicines to be tested and verified before being sold, and cars to meet safety standards before reaching the road, AI systems must equally be transparent and trustworthy.
5. We Are Missing Spaces for Real Conversations – Episode 5
As Lee Hibbard highlights, we need to organise spaces in different cities to talk with people about what they are feeling, and why they talk to a machine as if it were a person. We need to empower people to think differently, to give them the strength to change the narrative and ask for what they want, rather than simply accept what they have been given or what they have been taught.
6. AI Is Not Designed for Truth, but for Engagement – Episode 6
As Giovanni Spitale and Federico Germani argue, LLMs are designed for engagement rather than truth. In an expression introduced by Emily M. Bender and colleagues in a 2021 paper, LLMs are “stochastic parrots”: they are not oracles or sources of truth, but machines producing language that sounds plausible.
7. We Have an Obligation to Put Human Beings at the Centre of AI – Episode 7
As Alexandre Le Voci Sayad urges, we need policies that keep humankind at the centre of technological development. The last word and decision must always be made by a human. Whatever the future of AI may bring, we need to be prepared to protect human rights through public policy.
8. Bans Are Not Protection, Media Literacy Is – Episode 8
As Elizabeth Milovidov stresses, when we ban or restrict things, young people simply find other ways around them, such as VPNs and less regulated apps. Our job as parents and educators is to make sure that children understand the importance of critical thinking skills to become digital citizens and navigate online environments confidently and safely.
Related Posts
9/06/2026
In the latest series of the EAVI Conversations podcast, we explore why media and information literacy has become indispensable in an age shaped by algorithms and artificial intelligence. These conversations dive into the challenges AI poses for democracy, media freedom, education, and access to information. From the importance of explainability in AI and platform design, to the role of human agency in an increasingly automated environment, they examine what is needed to ensure that technological development serves the public interest, and how citizens, policymakers, educators, and technology developers can work towards a digital future that is centred on human values.
In this article, we revisit some of the key lessons from Season 4. From the need for long-term media literacy strategies and alternative technologies to the importance of regulation and meaningful public dialogue, these insights offer valuable guidance for building a digital future that serves democracy and human rights.
1. Media Literacy Needs a Long-Term Vision – Episode 1
As Artemiza-Tatiana Chisca explains, MIL strategies require a long-term vision. They need to be comprehensive and inclusive, involving cooperation between various stakeholders and regular assessments of their impact. They should cover all levels of education and all age groups, so that everyone in society can critically engage with information and participate meaningfully in public and democratic life.
2. User Empowerment Must Be Embedded in Platform Design – Episode 2
As Adeline Hulin points out, user empowerment needs to be embedded within digital platform governance frameworks. Platforms need to develop technologies that empower users by design, providing simple and explainable tools rather than merely training people on how to find information.
3. We Need Media Literacy More Than New Policies – Episode 3
As Murielle Popa-Fabre reminds us, what is radically important is not creating new frameworks, but making existing ones agile and technologically informed. We need enforcement more than new policies: we will not be able to protect the way we see society and the world if we do not reach a sufficient level of technological understanding and monitoring to make policies effective.
4. Regulation Is an Enabler of Innovation: A Necessity, Not an Option – Episode 4
As Virginia Dignum reminds us, there is nothing in our societies that is completely unregulated, and regulations exist for many different reasons, the most important being the need to organise our society in a way that we can all coexist while still being able to achieve our own interests and objectives. From a perspective of developing technology, if there are no rules at all, most organisations would not even dare to start, as they would have no idea whether what they are building will be successful, useful, or trustworthy. Just as we require medicines to be tested and verified before being sold, and cars to meet safety standards before reaching the road, AI systems must equally be transparent and trustworthy.
5. We Are Missing Spaces for Real Conversations – Episode 5
As Lee Hibbard highlights, we need to organise spaces in different cities to talk with people about what they are feeling, and why they talk to a machine as if it were a person. We need to empower people to think differently, to give them the strength to change the narrative and ask for what they want, rather than simply accept what they have been given or what they have been taught.
6. AI Is Not Designed for Truth, but for Engagement – Episode 6
As Giovanni Spitale and Federico Germani argue, LLMs are designed for engagement rather than truth. In an expression introduced by Emily M. Bender and colleagues in a 2021 paper, LLMs are “stochastic parrots”: they are not oracles or sources of truth, but machines producing language that sounds plausible.
7. We Have an Obligation to Put Human Beings at the Centre of AI – Episode 7
As Alexandre Le Voci Sayad urges, we need policies that keep humankind at the centre of technological development. The last word and decision must always be made by a human. Whatever the future of AI may bring, we need to be prepared to protect human rights through public policy.
8. Bans Are Not Protection, Media Literacy Is – Episode 8
As Elizabeth Milovidov stresses, when we ban or restrict things, young people simply find other ways around them, such as VPNs and less regulated apps. Our job as parents and educators is to make sure that children understand the importance of critical thinking skills to become digital citizens and navigate online environments confidently and safely.
