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Connections

AI, propaganda, and the future of democracy

Two men wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at left has short brown hair and is wearing a white button-down shirt under a blue blazer; a man at right has short dark hair and is wearing a grey button-down shirt.
Gary Pudup
/
WXXI News
Bret Schafer with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, November 4. 2025
WXXI News

Authoritarian governments are harnessing artificial intelligence to undermine democracies.

That's according to Bret Schafer, head of the Alliance for Securing Democracy’s information manipulation team. Schafer studies how state and non-state actors use AI to create and spread propaganda, and how those efforts affect public opinion.

He's in Rochester as a guest of the World Affairs Council, but first, he joins us on "Connections" to discuss how to recognize AI-generated disinformation and what can be done to stop it.

In studio:

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.