It feels urgent, with elections approaching in several democracies, to focus on lessons from 2016, when the Brexit referendum and the US presidential election were both marred in ways still coming to light. Among several valuable reports, a recent study for the European parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology usefully encapsulates the challenges without unremitting alarmism and pessimism. It is clear-eyed about both the benefits and dangers to democracies of technologies that are in the handheld devices of most voters.

Against a backdrop of increasing polarisation, “new digital technologies have taken centre stage in political processes – both as a source of information and a campaigning platform”, says the study, Polarisation and the use of technology in political campaigns and communication. “Such new and relatively unregulated platforms create new opportunities for nefarious actors to deliberately push false content and distort information flows for political gain.” But artificial intelligence will also offer new opportunities for better accountability and transparency.