Notre Dame publishes policy brief on the impact of AI on historical information, with participation from HKS researchers

The Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society at the University of Notre Dame in the United States has published a policy brief on the impact of artificial intelligence on historical information, with a significant contribution from researchers of the Catholic University of Croatia.

Researchers from the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society and the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame have released a policy brief with public policy recommendations, warning that artificial intelligence systems can systematically distort historical information. This poses a serious threat to democratic debate and to citizens’ ability to form opinions and participate in social and political processes based on accurate information.

This is the first systematic study of how AI systems present historical content. The international and interdisciplinary research team was led by Associate Professor Nuno Moniz, PhD, from the University of Notre Dame. Contributors included Prof. Atalia Omer, PhD, and Prof. Peter Cajka, PhD, from the University of Notre Dame; Prof. Jasna Ćurković Nimac, PhD, and Prof. Tomislav Anić, PhD, from the Catholic University of Croatia; Prof. Silvana Mandolessi, PhD, from the Catholic University of Leuven; and Dr. Miguel Cardina from the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra.

The authors warn that young people are increasingly using AI tools in learning, which means that inaccurate or distorted historical content could have long-term effects on their understanding of the past and their ability to participate responsibly in a democratic society. The policy brief therefore calls for urgent measures, greater transparency of AI systems, independent assessments of their historical accuracy, and the strengthening of educational capacities for the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

The full policy brief, titled “How Artificial Intelligence Can Change Our Past: Urgent Action Against AI-Driven Distortion of Historical Information,” is available HERE.