We are pleased to report on the successful two-day international conference organised by the Prague University of Economics and Business in the framework of the LLM4DEM project: What Comes After GenAI? Exploring the Limits of One-Size-Fits-All AI for Democracy and Knowledge, held on 7 – 8 February 2025 in Prague.
Conference Overview
The conference offered a rich interdisciplinary forum for scholars and practitioners across philosophy, political science, economics and related fields to examine how large language models (LLMs) and more general Generative AI systems intersect with democratic knowledge infrastructures and public discourse.
Key questions included:
- How can LLMs contribute to epistemic democratization—broadening access to reliable information and enabling citizen participation?
- What becomes of expertise and trust in a digital age dominated by AI-mediated knowledge production?
- What ethical frameworks and institutional designs are needed to align the next generation of AI with democratic values?
- How do issues of language, meaning-making and power dynamics play out when LLMs operate in public spheres, and how do we ensure inclusivity and epistemic diversity?
Keynote Speakers
The event featured two outstanding keynote contributions:
- Sabina Leonelli (TUM, Germany) — addressing the shifting perspectives on AI for democratic society, including convenience, misinformation and planetary health.
- Michael Klenk (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands) — focusing on ethics and philosophy of technology in relation to LLMs and democracy.
Conference program
Conference program is available on the website of the conference.
Why This Matters for LLM4DEM
This conference contributed directly to the core aims of the LLM4DEM project by:
- Advancing our understanding of how LLMs shape and are shaped by democratic knowledge systems and epistemic authority.
- Stimulating debate around alternative pathways for AI development that go beyond a one-size-fits-all paradigm, focusing instead on pluralism, localization, inclusivity and democratic legitimacy.
- Fostering interdisciplinary exchange between philosophers, technologists, social scientists and policy actors on how to responsibly embed LLMs within democratic institutions.
Looking Forward
In light of the rich discussions and insights generated, the project looks ahead to producing edited volume or special journal issue based on selected conference contributions.
Organising Team
- Miroslav Vacura (Prague University of Economics and Business)
- Eugenia Stamboliev (University of Vienna)
- Petr Špecián (Charles University & Prague University of Economics and Business)
