As part of the thematic agenda addressed by the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network (OPN), we believe that digital transformation has significant impacts on all aspects of society, including democracy. The Internet and other digital technologies provide new opportunities for citizens to participate in the political process, but they also create new challenges for democratic governance. In this context, the growing development and use of artificial intelligence tools and platforms has shown that their impacts must be analyzed and addressed from multidimensional and innovative legislative approaches that prioritize the rights of users and consumers and consider central issues such as privacy, data protection, transparency, gender mainstreaming in algorithmic responsibility, intellectual property rights, and ethics.
In this sense, this virtual exchange aimed to explore the current conditions and initiatives in the hemisphere regarding the governance of artificial intelligence and the legislative actions that are being developed in the different parliaments of the region. In addition, this meeting was part of the initial activities of the new working group of parliamentarians of the OPN, the Digital Caucus, which seeks to promote legislative work on digital rights, artificial intelligence, modernization processes, and other issues related to the impact of technology in democratic systems.