The ad hoc Committee of the Socialist International on “ Progressive Solutions for a Changing World: Harnessing Technology, AI and Social Media “ was held in Tirana on March 21-23 2025 hosted by the SI member Socialist Party of Albania.
Pedro Sánchez: Technology Must Serve Democracy
The President of the Socialist International and Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, (video ) thanked host PM and SI VP Edi Rama as well as the Socialist Party of Albania for their hospitality, and sent a clear message:
Digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and social media are reshaping the way we live, communicate, and participate in democracy.
He warned that disinformation knows no borders—what starts in one country can influence elections elsewhere—and highlighted that algorithmic radicalization and online hate speech are not accidental but systemic. “We must act decisively to ensure that technology serves democracy, rather than threatening it.”
The President of the Socialist International called for regulation, cooperation, and mobilization of progressive networks. “Our cross-border solidarity is our greatest strength. We must turn ideas into action, and proposals into policies.”
Chantal Kambiwa : A Distinctive Gathering - Towards the Tirana Declaration
The General Coordinator of the Socialist International thanked the host party and Romina Kuko for their warm welcome , emphasizing that this is not an ordinary meeting. The Ad Hoc Committees represent a different space within the SI. Their purpose is not only to exchange views, but through a participative and dynamic process to collectively construct political positions that are clear, timely, and useful . Ideas that will be reflected in the Tirana Declaration to be adopted at the next SI Council in Istanbul (May 2025). This text aims to become a shared basis for our digital policy agenda. “These are not isolated problems,” reminded the SI General Coordinator
. “They are global challenges demanding a global progressive response”.
Edi Rama: Investing in innovation , empowering European integration
The meeting's host, Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania and Vice-President of the
Socialist International, welcomed participants to Tirana, a city transformed by progressive governance, a capital he described as a symbol of pride and change.
He highlighted Albania's strategic use of artificial intelligence to align national legislation
with the European acquis, in collaboration with Mira Murati, one of the architects of
ChatGPT and herself Albanian.Edi Rama underlined that investing in innovation is not just technical—it is political. A sign that Albania is serious about its European future.
But his most compelling message was a defence of politics itself.
“Politics is not the problem—it is the only way to build collective solutions.” He
concluded his speech by mentioning the importance of creating a global network of political academies to train new generations in democracy, ethics, and critical thinking. “Without politics, there would be no democracy, no human rights, no European Union.”
Paul Magnette , Chairman of the SI Europe Committee , reiterated the solidarity of the Socialist International with our Turkish member party CHP regarding the imprisonment of the Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu and praised the initiative to organize this meeting highlighting the importance of discussing technology, AI and social media in a world where these issues have a heavy impact on politics. He analyzed how in Europe the use of AI in communication is being used by the extreme right
Following the opening session of the meeting, SI Executive Vice President Paulina Lampsa presented the methodology and the conclusions from the first SI ad hoc Committee that took place in Ankara on September 6-7 2024 . She underlined that the SI is a unique space to discuss how today , global issues have implications at the regional, national and global level. No country can face these challenges alone.
The fourth technological revolution has created a lot of possibilities for improving our daily life in a wide range of sectors : employment, health, education , security communication but if there is no international cooperation on how to manage and regulate this rapid transformation it will be difficult to avoid negative consequences related to inequality , algorithm and data control , political interference , misinformation , digital divide.
SIW Vice President Hella Ben Yousef remarked that the technological global transformation to be fair must have a feminist perspective.
Artificial intelligence is not neutral. It reflects the power structures of those who build and train it. Without women—particularly those from the Global South—in the development pipeline, AI will continue to reproduce exclusion rather than challenge it.
A feminist lens insists that participation, representation and fairness be designed into every layer of digital infrastructure. Equity must be a core design principle, not a post-facto correction. Inclusive data sets, equitable access to infrastructure, and ethical enforcement were all named as necessary conditions for a democratic digital future.
Participants agreed that there is a need to create a global alliance of progressive actors to craft shared standards and regulatory frameworks for AI and digital technologies.
There was support for balanced regulation—policies that enable innovation while enforcing safety and fairness—and for mechanisms to combat AI deception, including alignment faking and misinformation at scale. Conclusions of the meeting are reflected in the unanimously adopted Tirana Declaration
Tirana Declaration
In Tirana, Albania, representatives of member parties of the Socialist International, along with special guests, gathered to exchange views on the challenges related to technology, AI, and new forms of communication, and agreed on the following conclusions:
The Fifth Technological Revolution has transformed the world in an extremely rapid pace by affecting not only the way we live but also the socio-political landscape and the power dynamics between states, citizens and corporations. These changes, if properly regulated and managed can bring a lot of benefits to humanity, as advances in knowledge, science, technology and innovation can be fundamental for building sustainable, inclusive and human societies. If not, they can broaden inequalities and undermine the foundations of our democracies.
To adapt the world to this new reality it is of paramount importance to ensure international cooperation as mentioned in the U.N Pact of the Future including the Global Digital Compact. The complex consequences of the Fifth Technological Revolution do not affect all continents and regions in the same way. This should be taken into account, and the Socialist International will look more thoroughly on this. At the moment, we notice that technology convergence does not necessarily improve social and economic inequalities unless it is part of a comprehensive progressive agenda.
Governance, security, health, education, communication, the way we work need groundbreaking initiatives to prepare our societies for the future before it’s too late. Gender equality must be at the core of this transformation that should take into account all societal stakeholders. Progressive political parties, municipalities, governments and think tanks must be at the forefront of this effort.
The social consequences of artificial intelligence must be addressed with urgency. In many sectors, the increasing use of AI and automation will reduce the demand for human labour, leading to potential job displacement on a wide scale. This could be significantly disruptive for our societies, particularly where there are inadequate protections and safety nets.
We believe that public policy must intervene to protect livelihoods either by preserving existing jobs through adaptation and upskilling, or by providing fair compensation where roles are lost.
Companies benefiting from such transitions should contribute to the social cost, whether through taxation, investment in nation wide training programmes, and other redistributive mechanisms that uphold the dignity of work and social justice.
Technology evolution creates a generational divide that has become evident. Members of Generation Y (18-34 years old) rely heavily on use of technological tools. But as these tools are becoming part of our daily life in many professional sectors and everyday activities, older generations face a number of new challenges. As the meta world and metaverse are changing perceptions, education, training and lifelong learning need to be significantly transformed.
The use of Big Data can improve innovation and efficiency across sectors from government to healthcare and education. However, as huge volumes of personal information are collected, kept and analysed safeguards are essential to protect individual privacy rights.
Additionally, the rise of Big Tech companies has created a concentration of power that raises concerns over privacy and data security, to issues of market monopoly and the potential for manipulation of public discourse. Increased cost associated with pioneering AI research is limiting the access to knowledge, creating a divide between haves and have-nots.
In the age of AI, the rapid popularisation of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and innovative platforms as Chat GPT increases the influence of Big Tech companies beyond borders. Data ownership and control of algorithms have a lot of consequences for individual and collective rights; therefore, the actual state of play could be extremely worrying in the absence of proper regulation.
Advances in science and technology related to security and military use have consequences in the civilian sphere that are not considered enough. The use of facial recognition for the restriction of civil liberties that we see in a number of countries is a very worrying sign.
In the political sphere we have to address two schools of thought that are creating hurdles in the efforts for a human centric, fair and clever use of science technology and AI:
- The Anti-science Movement that contests among other things climate change, evolution and mainstream medicine and The Far Right or Ultra-Right Movement that uses technology for undermining democracy and the rule of law.
In many cases the supporters of these two schools of thought are interrelated in their narratives and strategies.
Both use disinformation and algorithmic manipulation to promote their views. Social media platforms, artificial intelligence and data-driven technologies are increasingly shaped not only by commercial interests, but also political actors who undermine democratic values and aim to replace representative democracy by more authoritarian models of governance.
Disinformation is not anecdotal—it is structural and facilitates misinformation. It fuels division, manipulates emotions, and undermines public trust. Its spread is amplified through the use of bots via platforms prioritising outrage over dialogue, speed over truth, and profit over the common good. It is a very efficient tool for those wishing to exercise unapparent political and geopolitical influence.
Artificial intelligence, when left unchecked facilitates the replacement of democratic deliberation with automated decision-making devoid of critical thinking and fact checking.
The above challenges are not inherent problems of the technological revolution. They are issues related with ideological and political choices.
Faced with this reality, we reaffirm the responsibility of the international progressive movement to act. It is important in order to defend our democratic values but also to reinvent our societies NOW for the protection of actual and future generations.
Therefore:
We, the members of the Socialist International, commit to a shared agenda of democratic resilience, digital justice, and progressive transformation. We will not allow the digital
space to be captured by the politics of fear, hatred and discrimination or by authoritarian movements and oligarchies. We will act—together and
globally—to ensure that technological change improves the lives of all citizens and serves human rights and democracy.
Through the continuous in-depth dialogue, we initiated in Ankara and followed up in Tirana we commit to promote a global framework for the democratic governance of artificial intelligence, based on transparency, ethical standards, and accountability.
In this framework we need to:
- Advance and support legislation to guarantee algorithmic fairness, public oversight, and the right to know how decisions that affect citizens are made.
- Defend the rights of children and young people against toxic content, hate speech and digital exploitation.
- Recognise digital literacy as a universal democratic right, to be guaranteed through public education systems and lifelong learning.
- Build inclusive technological ecosystems that reflect the voices, experiences and leadership of women and marginalised communities, especially from the Global South.
- Mobilise progressive parties and institutions to reclaim the digital space with shared narratives, collective tools and emotionally resonant content.
- Support the development of public and open-source alternatives to dominant digital platforms and AI models.
- Work across borders to counter the anti - science and far right’s digital strategies with solidarity, coordination and purpose.
This declaration is a call to action. From Tirana, we launch a collective effort to shape a digital future grounded in justice, freedom, equality and human dignity.
In the face of fragmentation, we choose cooperation.
In the face of nihilism, we choose values
In the face of manipulation, we choose
