Algorithmic Age:
Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law

 

Thematic Conference on the occasion of the Inaugural Meeting of

the Steering Committee for New and Emerging Digital Technologies (CDNET)

 15 April 2026   9:30 AM – 6:30 PM Strasbourg, Palais de l’Europe, Room 1

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 Programme

08:30 – 09:30 Welcoming coffee
09:30 – 10:00 Opening Session

Host: Mr Mario HERNANDEZ RAMOS, Former Chair of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI)

  • Ms Michelle ILIEV, State Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalisation, Republic of Moldova
  • Ms Hanne JUNCHER, Director, Security, Integrity and Rule of Law, Council of Europe
  • Mr Gabriel REVEL, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Monaco to the Council of Europe, forthcoming Presidency
10:00 – 12:00 Panel I – Human Dignity and Individual Autonomy in the Age of Advanced Sensing

New sensing technologies increasingly allow continuous inference about individuals’ identity, behaviour and physical or emotional states. Bringing together technical experts, policy practitioners and human rights specialists, this panel will examine both the capabilities and the limits of these technologies and their implications for dignity, autonomy and privacy. Particular attention will be given to real-world deployment contexts and the safeguards needed to protect individuals, especially children and other vulnerable persons.

Moderator: Mr Mario HERNANDEZ RAMOS, Former Chair of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI)

  • Ms Murielle POPA FABRE (online), NLP/ML Expert for AI Policies, Responsible AI Policies and Governance | Computational Neuroscientist | x INRIA & Cornell Researcher
  • Ms Pam DIXON, Fondatrice et directeur exécutif, World Privacy Forum
  • Ms Victoria GRECH, Founder and CEO TRUZENTIA.IO, Advisor to the Scottish Government on AI, United Kingdom
  • Ms Siobhán O’SULLIVAN, Executive Director, Royal Irish Academy, Member of CDBIO
  • Ms Victoria BAINES (online), Professor, Gresham College, author of the Background paper for the Lanzarote Committee on Emerging technologies: threats and opportunities for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse
  • Mr Yoichi IIDA (online), Special Policy Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, Japan
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break
14:00 – 16:00 Panel II – The Rule of Law in the Algorithmic State

Digital technologies are reshaping the information environment in which democratic debate and political participation take place. Bringing together experts from academia, policy, technology and international governance, this panel will explore the real-world dynamics of generative content, algorithmic amplification and synthetic actors in the public sphere. The discussion will focus on how democratic resilience can be strengthened while safeguarding freedom of expression and pluralism.

Moderator: Ms Hanne JUNCHER, Director, Security, Integrity and Rule of Law, Council of Europe

  • Ms Virginia DIGNUM, Professor of Responsible AI at Umeå University, co-chair of the ACM Tech Policy Council, member of UNESCO’s High-Level Expert Group on the implementation of the UNESCO AI Ethics Recommendation, and member of the OECD Expert Group on AI Futures
  • Mr Paul DALY (online), Professor, University of Ottawa, The University Research Chair in Administrative Law & Governance at the University of Ottawa
  • Mr Jean-Luc SAURON, Councillor of State, France and associate professor at Université Paris Dauphine
  • Mr Alejandro FERNANDEZ MUÑOZ, Head of the Office to the Director General of International Legal Cooperation Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with Parliament of Spain, Member of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ)
  • Mr Marcos SALT, Director of the postgraduate Specialization on Cybercrime and Digital Evidence, Faculty of Law, University of Buenos Aires, Former Member of the Bureau of the TC-Y of the Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe
16:00 – 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 – 18:30 Panel III – Algorithmic Democracy: Opportunities and Risks

Digital technologies are transforming how information circulates, public debate unfolds and democratic participation takes place. From generative content systems to algorithmic amplification and synthetic actors, these developments create new opportunities but also risks for democratic processes. This panel will examine how societies can strengthen democratic resilience while safeguarding freedom of expression, pluralism and open public debate.

Moderator: Ms Tatiana MONNEY, Policy Adviser for the New Democratic Pact, Council of Europe

 

  • Mr Thomas SCHNEIDER, Ambassador, Vice-Director and Co-Director at OFCOM, Switzerland, former Chair and Vice-Chair of the CAI
  • Mr Oreste POLLICINO, Full Professor of Constitutional Law and AI Law at Bocconi University, Italy; President of the Centre for Digital Constitutionalism and Policy (DICOPO)
  • Ms Brittan HELLER (online), Professor, Stanford University, USA, Council of Europe expert for "Freedom of Expression in Immersive Realities: A Feasibility Study"
  • Mr Lucas COSTA DOS ANJOS, General Coordinator for Research and Technology at the National Data Protection Agency (Brazil)
  • Mr David REICHEL, Head of Data and Digital Sector, Justice, Digital and Migration Unit, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
18:30 Closing Session

Host: Mr Mario HERNANDEZ RAMOS, Former Chair of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI)

Ms Mihaela Martinov, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Moldova to the Council of Europe

Mr Matthias KLOTH, Head of the Digital Governance and Sport Department, Council of Europe

 

19:00 – 21:00 Reception hosted by the Organisers

Palais, Restaurant Bleu 

 Speakers

Back Ms Virginia DIGNUM

Ms Virginia DIGNUM

Professor Virginia DIGNUM is Professor of Responsible Artificial Intelligence at the Department of Computing Science at Umeå University, Sweden, where she leads the AI Policy Lab. She is a Wallenberg Scholar (2024) and Senior Advisor on AI Policy to the Wallenberg Foundations, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), as well as a Fellow of EURAI and ELLIS. She also holds affiliations as Guest Professor at the Civic AI Lab, University of Amsterdam, and Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

She is deeply engaged in international AI governance and policy, currently serving as co-chair of the ACM Tech Policy Council, member of UNESCO’s High-Level Expert Group on the implementation of the UNESCO AI Ethics Recommendation, and member of the OECD Expert Group on AI Futures. She is also founder of ALLAI (the Dutch AI Alliance) and has previously contributed to major global initiatives, including the United Nations High-Level Advisory Body on AI, the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on AI, and the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Artificial Intelligence. Through UNESCO’s AI Ethics Experts Without Borders, she advises governments worldwide on national AI strategies.

Her research focuses on the interconnections between people, organisations, technology, and policy, with an emphasis on responsible and governance-aware AI systems. She has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles (over 19,000 citations) and her latest book, The AI Paradox (Princeton University Press, 2026), explores the challenges of aligning AI with societal values. She is the recipient of several distinctions, including the AI Policy Leader Award (2025) and AI and Ethics Professional of the Year (2022), and is a frequent international speaker and advisor on AI ethics and governance.

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 Practical details

Languages and Interpretation: English and French.

Visa Requirements: Travellers are responsible for arranging any necessary visas.

Conference Format: The event will be held in a hybrid format, with in-person attendance by invitation only. It will also be livestreamed on this webpage to allow wider access. Remote participants can view the sessions but will not be able to take the floor or interact with the speakers.

Venue: Palais de l’Europe, Room 1, Strasbourg.

Getting Around: Local transport & useful contacts

Building Access and Registration: Participants can collect their conference badges at the entrance on the first day by presenting a valid ID or passport.

Catering: Welcoming coffee and a coffee break will be served during the conference. Participants are responsible for their own lunch; an on-site cafeteria will be available.