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AI’s Democracy Dilemma

The AI Democracy Dilemma

As AI continues to advance at a mind-boggling speed, citizens worldwide are incorporating it into their daily lives. Yet at the same time, bad actors — from criminal networks to aspiring autocrats — now have more tools at their disposal to engineer the people’s will and undermine democracy. As David Altman writes in the January issue of the Journal of Democracy, “By flooding the public square with synthetic persuasion, fragmenting shared discourse, and overpowering traditional civil society, AI risks creating a system that is more plebiscitary than deliberative, more efficient than legitimate, and ultimately, more destabilizing than stabilizing.” The good news is that there are ways to avert these threats.

Read Altman’s essay and the Journal’s other coverage of AI’s impacts on democracy, free for a limited time.
The AI Democracy Dilemma
A revolution in political participation is underway: Political players and advocacy groups are using AI to draft ballot initiatives, gather signatures, and persuade voters—undermining democratic legitimacy in the process.
David Altman
China’s AI-Powered Surveillance State
The Chinese Communist Party is dreaming an authoritarian techno-dream that is a democrat’s nightmare: ever more fine-grained state control made possible by using AI networks to pry and spy everywhere. But human unpredictability remains a force the party-state cannot tame.
Valentin Weber
The Real Dangers of Generative AI
Advanced AI faces twin perils: the collapse of democratic control over key state functions or the concentration of political and economic power in the hands of the few. Avoiding these risks will require new ways of governing.
Danielle Allen and E. Glen Weyl
AI and Catastrophic Risk
AI with superhuman abilities could emerge within the next few years. We must act now to protect democracy, human rights, and our very existence.
Yoshua Bengio
The Danger of Runaway AI
Science fiction may soon become reality with the advent of AI systems that can independently pursue their own objectives. Guardrails are needed now to save us from the worst outcomes.
Tom Davidson
How AI Threatens Democracy
Generative AI can flood the media, internet, and even personal correspondence, sowing confusion for voters and government officials alike. If we fail to act, mounting mistrust will polarize our societies and tear at our institutions.
Sarah Kreps and Doug Kriner
The Authoritarian Data Problem
AI is destined to become another stage for geopolitical conflict. In this contest, autocracies have the advantage, as they vacuum up valuable data from democracies, while democracies inevitably incorporate data tainted by repression.
Eddie Yang and Margaret E. Roberts
Reimagining Democracy for AI
Advances in AI are rapidly disrupting the foundations of democracy and the international order. We must reinvent our democratic infrastructure to ensure our ability to govern in a dramatically different technological world.
Aviv Ovadya