DOKNESS WINS ARD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

The winners have been announced: it's Dokness!
With our documentary film project "The Autocrat Code", we won the 12th "ARD TopDocs - Competition" on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. In our project, we use artificial intelligence (AI) to create an openly autocratic German candidate for the 2024 elections. Would the Germans vote for him - even without a democratic fig leaf in communication? The litmus test for German democracy in 2024 ... The search was on for an exclusive documentary highlight on a topic that will affect Germany in 2024 - for a broadcast slot on ARD and for publication in the ARD media library. The broadcast is planned for next year.

"What tipped the scales for the jury was that the project tackles two of the most pressing issues of our time. It's about AI and the questions: What can AI do? What is AI allowed to do? And where are we drifting towards in terms of right-wing populism? What does this do to our democracy," emphasizes ARD editor-in-chief and jury chairman Oliver Köhr. "The experimental nature and bold approach made us curious," continued Köhr.

"The content of the project is so important: democracy or autocracy? What happened in the last elections in Germany in particular raises this question. That's why we think it's exactly the right time to ask it. And the audience can look forward to an artistically experimental film," says our author Alexandra enthusiastically about her 1st place.