Democracies worldwide are under stress: populist leaders are questioning and even denying the principles of the rule of law and shared governance; visions of equality are being silenced amid the fuss of cultural wars; and the search for evidence-based truth has been weakened. All this is happening within the context of an ever-increasing power of tech companies. Irresponsible AI systems establish algorithms that divide societies while harming both individuals and social groups.
There are many questions which remain unanswered. A clearly articulated, forward-looking vision is urgently needed. Turning back the clock is not an option. While top-down regulation certainly plays a role, it cannot be the sole solution. It is up to our societies to switch on their self-protective instincts and activate civic engagement. But is that realistic? Who could be the main drivers of these changes, and what paths would they need to follow?
Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Austria Jiří Šitler will provide introductory remarks. This will be followed by a short lecture by Věra Jourová and a subsequent discussion with IWM Rector Misha Glenny, moderated by Anna Durnová, professor of political ociology at the Department of Sociology, University of Vienna.
Věra Jourová is a Czech politician and lawyer who served as the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality from 2014 to 2019 and as Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency from 2019 to 2024. She was a member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic between 2013 and 2014 and the Czech Minister for Regional Development in 2014. In 2019, Time magazine ranked Jourová in its list of 100 most influential people of the year, citing her role in the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation and new privacy rights as European Commissioner. In February 2026, Jourová is the first Karel Schwarzenberg Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna.
