Dystopia alert: It is estimated that 300 million surveillance cameras will have been installed in China alone and 20 billion IoT sensors are expected to be collecting data around the globe by the year 2020. Machines will not only have an accurate profile of almost every citizen but also be able to predict our feelings and reactions through Emotion AI. But what does it mean to the state of democracy and its competitiveness vis-à-vis authoritarian models? Will mass surveillance set a precedent? This panel’s speakers will bring different perspectives to the contemporary conundrum of digitisation & democracy.

The session will start with an introduction by Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Stage host: Geraldine de Bastion