Global Policy Briefs on AI | Research and innovation

Led by Prof. Catherine Régis and Prof. Florian Martin-Bariteau, the Global Policy Briefs on AI initiative is a joint endeavour of IVADO, Canada's premier AI research and knowledge mobilization consortium at Université de Montréal, and the AI + Society Initiative at the University of Ottawa to develop actionable globally-oriented policy guidance to navigate global AI challenges.

For the first instalment, Professors Catherine Régis and Florian Martin-Bariteau convened a group of leading AI experts from around the world to propose policy recommendations on the impact of AI on democracy and electoral integrity. They met for a week-long retreat hosted by the Società Italiana per l’Organizzazione Internazionale (SIOI) in Rome, Italy, in December 2024 and produced the first Global Policy Brief on AI: "AI in the Ballot Box: Four Actions to Safeguard Election Integrity and Uphold Democracy."

AI in the Ballot Box: Four Actions to Safeguard Election Integrity and Uphold Democracy

by Catherine Régis, Florian Martin-Bariteau, Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, Juan David Gutiérrez, Gina Neff, Carlos Affonso Souza and Célia Zolynski

Read the Global Policy Brief

Key Takeaways

Recent examples from Brazil, Romania, Gabon, the United States, and other countries show how AI use by political actors can damage electoral integrity and democracy.

Nations are often unprepared for AI-related challenges: many lack rules governing AI in elections, political parties haven’t agreed on fair electoral practices in the AI age, and most jurisdictions can’t effectively counter AI-driven attacks on their democratic institutions.

The Global Policy Brief recommends four actions:

governments should update electoral rules (e.g., to prohibit misleading AI-generated content);
political parties should adopt a code of conduct with clear guidelines on the responsible political use of AI;
electoral authorities should establish independent teams to prevent and respond to AI- driven disruptions; and
at the international level, governments should establish International AI Electoral Trustkeepers and protocols for addressing cross-border interferences.

This Global Policy Brief is also available in French.

It will soon be available in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

“By pooling academic expertise on an international scale, we can develop solutions that will preserve the integrity of democratic processes.”

Prof. Catherine Régis

— Director of Social Innovation and International Policy at IVADO

“With our democracies under threat, AI-driven interference requires swift and concrete actions from leaders – both at the national and international level.”

Prof. Florian Martin-Bariteau

— Director of the AI + Society Initiative at the University of Ottawa

Authors

Catherine Régis

Professor of law, Université de Montréal; Director, social innovation and international policy, IVADO; Canada CIFAR Chair in AI and Human Rights, Mila

Florian Martin-Bariteau

University Research Chair in Technology and Society and Associate Professor of Law, University of Ottawa; Director, AI + Society Initiative

Jake Okechukwu Effoduh

Assistant Professor of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University

Juan David Gutiérrez

Associate Professor of Public Policy, Universidad de los Andes

Gina Neff

Professor of Responsible AI, Queen Mary University of London; Director, Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, University of Cambridge

Carlos Affonso Pereira de Souza

Professor of Law, UERJ; Director, Institute for Technology and Society of Rio de Janeiro

Célia Zolynski

Professor of Law, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

The brief was written with the support of Réjean Roy, director of knowledge mobilization at IVADO.

This project was undertaken thanks to the contribution of the Fonds de recherche du Québec, the CEIMIA, the Canada CIFAR Chair in AI and Human Rights at Mila, and the University of Ottawa Research Chair in Technology and Society, and with the help of the Délégation du Québec à Rome and the SIOI for the organization of the retreat.

The views expressed in this policy brief are solely those of the authors.

Recommended citation
Catherine Régis, Florian Martin-Bariteau, Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, Juan David Gutiérrez, Gina Neff, Carlos Affonso Souza & Célia Zolynsky, AI in the Ballot Box: Four Actions to Safeguard Election Integrity and Uphold Democracy, The Global Policy Briefs on AI, IVADO / AI + Society Initiative, University of Ottawa, 2025.

Launch event

AI Action Week

AI and Elections: A Global Call to Uphold Democracy

Join us on February 10th during the Paris AI Action Week for a conversation to explore the critical challenges AI poses to elections and democracy, and to unpack key recommended actions to safeguard election integrity and uphold democracy.