Dr. Iakovos-Antonios Armaos
CEO at Efrata, Marousi, Attiki, Greece
E-mail: iarmaos@efratacommunications.com

Title: AI as a tool to enable human activity, not replacing it

Abstract: When it comes to AI and its impact on democracy, various approaches have been proposed. Some argue that using chatbots is a great idea. There's also a suggestion to use avatars to represent each citizen, enabling a new form of direct democracy. Another proposition is to leverage the data generated through our use of digital applications. Despite the diversity of these ideas, they all share one thing in common: they lack the element of human energetic initiative. The core premise behind these suggestions is that people would only engage with digital applications in a passive or accidental manner—interacting minimally, with little to no control over how things operate. Yet, the essence of democracy is about checks and balances. We established democratic procedures in the first place because, without them, a small segment of society would reap disproportionate benefits without accountability. In this announcement, we will argue that the true essence of democracy lies in the active involvement of citizens. We aim to demonstrate that one of the significant challenges facing democracy today is scale—people struggle to find time for the decision-making process or lack physical proximity to it. We will also argue that the purpose of technology is to enhance human capabilities, not to replace them. Therefore, AI applications in democracy should focus on solving these issues by enabling active human participation, and we should be cautious of practices that discourage such involvement.

BIO: Dr. Iakovos-Antonios Armaos is Doctor of Political Philosophy and the Chairman and Founder of efrata. He has almost 25 years of experience in the field of communication consulting, strategic planning, media relations and public affairs for many companies and organizations of both public and the private sector in Greece and the EU.

Iakovos also co-founded and served as Vice-Chairman at the Center for Promotion of Insular Policy (KEPRONIPO, a non-profit organization dedicated in finding solutions and promoting ideas on the well-being of the Greek Islands).

He holds a PhD in Political Philosophy from the School of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, an MA in Communication Policy Studies from City, University of London and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Iakovos has published several articles, has participated in many television and radio shows and has spoken at conferences in Greece and abroad. He is the Author of the book "Αύριο Μπορεί να Έλθει το Χθες - Yesterday May Come Tomorrow" Plethora, Imprint of Eurasia Publications, 2020 and writer of "Για την Παιδεία και το Διαδίκτυο - Internet and Education", in "Τo Οπτικοακουστικό στην Εποχή της Πανδημίας - The Audiovisual in the Pandemic Era", Costas Theologou- George Arabatzis (Ed.), Εllinoekdotiki Publishing, 2022. He speaks English and French fluently.