PARIS SESSION · SATURDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2026

A tale of three cities and democracy in the age of AI

From Athens to Westminster to the Sorbonne, we gather around one defining question: can democracy endure, and can it govern intelligence itself, in the age of artificial intelligence?

Save the DateMeet the Speakers
Amphi Descartes
Sorbonne Université
Our sessions

Westminster, Athens, the Sorbonne

London
19 November 2025 · House of Commons
The inaugural session, under the auspices of Rt Hon Sir Roger Gale MP.
Athens
19 February 2026 · Old Parliament
Two panels at the National Historical Museum, Old Parliament Building.
Paris Upcoming
14 November 2026 · Sorbonne Université
A tale of three cities and democracy in the age of AI.
Paris Session · Speakers

The voices of the Paris Session

Saturday 14 November 2026 · 12:00–16:00 · Amphi Descartes

The Paris Session programme

A tale of three cities

A forum built on three traditions

Athens gave the world the vote. London gave it the elected chamber. Paris gave it the social contract.

I

Athens

c. 508 BC
The vote

Cleisthenes' reforms open the assembly to every citizen, and public decisions pass to those who must live by them.

II

London

1265
The elected chamber

Simon de Montfort's Parliament summons elected representatives of the shires and towns to sit alongside the barons.

III

Paris

1789
The social contract

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen makes Rousseau’s idea law: authority rests with the nation, and law expresses the general will.

3Cities
7Speakers & moderators
5Student voices
Our mission

Three questions the Forum returns to each year

i.

Legislative literacy

Equipping sitting parliamentarians and their staff with a working understanding of how AI systems are built, trained and deployed.

ii.

Electoral integrity

Studying how synthetic media, micro-targeting and automated moderation reshape campaigns, and what safeguards keep elections trustworthy.

iii.

Constitutional design

Asking what new rights, oversight bodies and checks a democracy needs once algorithmic systems participate in public decision-making.