Public Engagement

Coverage of my research in international media, plus selected talks and keynotes.

Selected Highlights

• United Nations, July 2026: Our Science article on malicious AI swarms is cited in the AI Panel’s preliminary report.
• World Economic Forum, June 2026: The article is also cited in Preparing for the Future: The Pillars of Digital Safety Foresight.
• The Guardian, January 2026: Interview and coverage of malicious AI swarms, including their potential to manufacture apparent public consensus.

For Media

Daniel Thilo Schroeder is a research scientist at SINTEF in Oslo. He studies how coordinated AI systems could manipulate public debate and develops methods to simulate and evaluate these risks.

Topics: AI-enabled disinformation, malicious AI swarms, cyborg propaganda, and information integrity.

Media enquiries · Photos for media use

2026

September

• KAI Seminar, Kristiania (September 30, 2026): Malicious AI Swarms as Social Systems: Coordination, Influence, and Collective Dynamics - Invited seminar in Oslo on AI swarms as social systems, synthetic consensus, cyborg propaganda, IO Factory, and the implications of coordinated AI behaviour for influence and collective safety.

• Nordic-Baltic Roundtable (September 29, 2026): New Challenges - Are We Up to It? AI Scenarios - Invited speaker and panellist in the session on strategic communication and societal resilience in Vilnius, organised by UTSYN - Centre for Security and Resilience, Civic Resilience Initiative, and Kongsberg.

• Canada’s National Observer (September 21, 2026): Toronto mayoral candidate Bradford using Israeli app that feeds supporters AI-generated comments (paywalled) - Interviewed by Rory White for an investigation into AI-generated campaign messaging, the Victory App, and cyborg propaganda in Toronto’s mayoral election.

• COM4AI (September 15, 2026): When Humans Become Machines and Machines Become Human - Online talk and discussion on cyborg propaganda, malicious AI swarms, and how AI-driven influence blurs the boundary between genuine public opinion and engineered consensus. [Recording]

August

• Arendalsuka 2026 (August 12, 2026): Samfunnsdebatten under angrep, med desinformasjon som våpen — Talk and panel discussion in Arendal on AI swarms, disinformation, synthetic consensus, and resilience against threats to democratic discourse. [Event]

July

• Forskning.no (July 28, 2026): Advarer mot påvirkning fra ondsinnede KI-svermer — SINTEF-produced Norwegian feature on malicious AI swarms, digital wildfires, platform transparency, and the need for data access to monitor AI-enabled influence operations.

• Quarks Dimension Ralph (July 14, 2026): So verhinderst du, dass KI deine Meinung steuert - Quarks mit Marc-Uwe Kling — German YouTube explainer on AI-enabled influence, opinion formation, and practical ways to recognize and reduce manipulation risks.

• United Nations Independent International Scientific Panel on AI (July 1, 2026): Preliminary Report: Evidence-based assessment of opportunities, risks and impacts of AI — The Panel cites our Science article on malicious AI swarms in its assessment of risks to human rights, information integrity, and democracy. [PDF]

June

• Gemini.no (June 25, 2026): Advarer mot påvirkning fra ondsinnede KI-svermer — Norwegian research feature on how malicious AI swarms could influence political opinions and why limited platform transparency has become a democratic risk.

• DW Global Media Forum 2026 (June 23, 2026): How do malicious AI swarms threaten democratic elections? — Panel session in Bonn on malicious AI swarms, electoral integrity, and multistakeholder responses. [Event]

• Deutsche Welle (June 23, 2026): Short interview with Juan Sebastián Gómez and Juan Pancorbo Bago on cyborg propaganda and AI swarms.

• EU DisinfoLab (June 18, 2026): From Botnets to AI Swarms: Tracking Emerging Risks Through an AI Influence Observatory — Webinar on AI-enabled disinformation risks, malicious AI swarms, cyborg propaganda, and the case for an AI Influence Observatory. [Details]

• Dataforeningen / AI Sør-Øst (June 9, 2026): Lunchwebinar: From Cyborg Propaganda to Malicious AI Swarms: Cognitive security and the new architecture of influence — Online lunch webinar on cyborg propaganda, malicious AI swarms, and cognitive security. [Event]

• World Economic Forum (June 3, 2026): Preparing for the Future: The Pillars of Digital Safety Foresight — The report cites our Science article on malicious AI swarms in its discussion of agentic automation, inauthentic participation, harassment, and information campaigns. [PDF]

• Industriuka 2026 (June 1-4, 2026): Speaker profile — Speaker appearance at Industriuka, Norway’s meeting place for green industry, on AI, digital communication, and influence. [Details]

May

• TEDxBratislava (May 30, 2026): A Touch of Lightness — TEDxBratislava appearance on how coordinated AI agents and malicious AI swarms could shape public opinion and undermine democratic resilience. [Details]

• t3n (May 20, 2026): Das nächste Internet gehört den Agenten – und Tokens sind die neue Währung — Feature on the emerging agentic web, AI agents as primary internet users, and tokens as a transaction layer for machine-driven online activity.

• Data Week 2026 (May 6, 2026): Data & AI for Europe’s Security and Defence: Trustworthy Intelligence in a Geopolitical Era — Security-track panel in Oslo on trustworthy AI, data-driven intelligence, and Europe’s security and defence agenda. [Programme]

• Scientific Sense (May 1, 2026): Podcast conversation on AI and influence — Discussion with Gill Eapen on AI-enabled influence, synthetic consensus, and how emerging agentic systems may reshape public opinion and democratic resilience.

April

• Norwegian Helsinki Committee Annual Meeting (April 23, 2026): From Cyborg Propaganda to Malicious AI Swarms: Cognitive Security and the New Architecture of Influence — Invited lecture at the annual meeting of Den norske Helsingforskomité (Norwegian Helsinki Committee), Oslo. Talk on AI-driven influence operations, synthetic consensus, and threats to democratic resilience; invited following the NRK op-ed on fake grassroots movements.

• Sikkerhetskonferansen 2026 (NSM) (April 22, 2026): From Cyborg Propaganda to Malicious AI Swarms: Cognitive security and the new architecture of influence — Talk at Norway’s National Security Conference on hybrid influence threats and defense strategies. [Details & Slides] [Video]

• CXOTalk (April 2026): How AI Swarms Weaponize Disinformation — Podcast discussion on how AI swarms manufacture synthetic consensus, target corporate reputation, and what organizations can do about them.

March

• Hello Future (Orange) (March 2026): Confronting the Illusory Consensus of AI Swarms: Strategies for Preserving Democratic Debate — Orange’s research magazine on strategies for countering AI swarm threats to democratic discourse.

• Nettavisen (March 2026): KI-svermer på internett: – Krevende og skummelt — Norwegian coverage on AI swarms threatening democracy; features interviews with Jonas Kunst and Daniel Schroeder.

• Slovenian TV (March 2026): The Invisible Side of AI: When Algorithms Become Strategists — TV interview on how AI systems can identify key influencers and target disinformation based on psychological profiles.

February

• Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast (February 2026): Is the internet still free - and who decides? — Podcast episode exploring AI swarms and their impact on elections, free speech, and public trust.

• Radio Ecoshock (February 2026): AI Swarms: We Are Not Ready — Radio interview on AI swarms and their threat to democracy.

• CT24 (Czech Television) (February 2026): Roje AI mohou rozvrátit demokracie, varují výzkumníci — Czech public broadcaster coverage on how AI swarms could disrupt democracies.

• NRK (February 2026): Falske folkebevegelser truer demokratiet — Opinion piece on how fake grassroots movements powered by AI threaten democracy.

• Tagesschau (ARD) (February 2026): KI-Schwärme könnten die Demokratie gefährden — German public broadcaster coverage on how AI swarms could endanger democracy.

• WELT (February 2026): “Die Frage ist nicht, ob es sie gibt, sondern in welchem Ausmaß sie bereits operieren” — In-depth feature on AI swarms and their potential scale of operation.

• Der Spiegel (February 12, 2026): Künstliche Intelligenz: Experten warnen vor KI-Schwärmen, die unsere Demokratie bedrohen — Detailed feature initiated by Schroeder and Kunst, focusing on threats and countermeasures.

• SciTechDaily (February 4, 2026): The AI Threat You’ll Never See Coming Is Already Talking to You Online — Repackages UBC-sourced warnings on unseen online manipulation and influence on elections.

• Tages-Anzeiger (February 2, 2026): AI-Schwärme: Wie künstliche Intelligenz Wahlen manipuliert — Discusses how AI-driven opinion makers are more sophisticated than bots and endanger democracy; quotes Schroeder on Swiss vulnerabilities.

• The Jerusalem Post (February 1, 2026): Study warns AI bot swarms could undermine democracy — Summarizes warnings on swarms mimicking behavior to spread misinformation and threaten free thought/elections.

January

• StudyFinds.org (January 30, 2026): AI Armies That Never Sleep Are Faking Grassroots Movements, Threatening Democracy — Focuses on faking grassroots consensus.

• UBC Science (January 29, 2026): AI swarms could hijack democracy—without anyone noticing — Quotes Schroeder on “synthetic consensus” via iterative probing/amplification; features UBC co-author Kevin Leyton-Brown.

• MDR (ARD) (January 27, 2026): Fake-Account war gestern – jetzt bedrohen KI-Schwärme den öffentlichen Diskurs — Warns about KI swarms manipulating democratic opinion formation and distorting discourse, referencing Schroeder’s Science paper.

• The Power of Us (January 27, 2026): When AI Can Fake Majorities, Democracy Dies Quietly — Guest elements from Schroeder, Kunst, and Jay Van Bavel; references the full paper.

• Decrypt (January 26, 2026): AI ‘Swarms’ Could Escalate Online Misinformation and Manipulation, Researchers Warn — Includes Schroeder quotes on capabilities.

• Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (January 26, 2026): AI ‘swarms’ could quietly threaten democracy — Ties to co-author Meeyoung Cha; focuses on faking consensus without obvious bot-like patterns.

• Harvard Digital Data Design Institute (January 26, 2026): The New Influence War: How AI Could Hack Democracy — Discusses implications with input from co-author Amit Goldenberg.

• The Guardian (January 23, 2026): Experts warn of threat to democracy from ‘AI bot swarms’ infesting social media — Direct quotes from Schroeder on deployment ease and cross-platform operations.

• TechXplore (January 23, 2026): The next generation of disinformation: AI swarms can threaten democracy by manufacturing fake public consensus — Core summary of the paper’s thesis.

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) (January 23, 2026): KI-Agenten könnten demokratische Wahlen beeinflussen, mahnen Experten. Wirklich? — Analytical piece discussing the paper’s claims on AI agents influencing elections.

• Marcus on AI (Gary Marcus Substack) (January 23, 2026): AI bot swarms threaten to undermine democracy — Joint essay with Schroeder and Jonas R. Kunst, expanding on the Science paper.

• BI Norwegian Business School (January 23, 2026): AI swarms threaten democracy — Co-lead emphasis on shift from bots to “social organisms”; quotes Schroeder on urgent defenses.

• University of Konstanz (January 23, 2026): The next generation of disinformation — Highlights co-author David Garcia’s involvement.

• WIRED (January 2026): AI-Powered Disinformation Swarms Are Coming for Democracy — Covers the technological shift to adaptive swarms, referencing Schroeder as lead author.

• Live Science (late January 2026): Next-generation AI ‘swarms’ will invade social media by mimicking human behavior and harassing real users, researchers warn — Emphasizes invasion and harassment risks.

• EurekAlert! / AAAS (January 22, 2026): Malicious AI swarms pose emergent threats to democracy — Official press release summarizing threats and proposed “AI Influence Observatory.”

• City St George’s, University of London (January 22, 2026): AI “swarms” could fake public consensus and quietly distort democracy, Science Policy Forum warns — Emphasizes co-author Andrea Baronchelli’s role and imitation of social dynamics.

• SINTEF (January 22, 2026): Publication page and related announcements — Linking to the paper and interviews.

2023

June

• re:publica 2023 (June 7, 2023): Die 5G-Apokalypse: Blick auf ein Digital Wildfire und seine Entstehung - Joint talk with Stefan Brenner in Berlin on 5G conspiracy narratives, digital wildfires, and the real-world consequences of online misinformation. [Programme]

2022

August

• Summer Academy: The Geopolitics of Disinformation (August 31, 2022): Conspiracy Theory Dynamics in Social Networks - Talk at the Academy of International Affairs NRW in Bonn on conspiracy theory dynamics in social networks. [Report]