"In your book, you write that democracy is an information system and because of that, it will be affected by AI. Can you explain? When we say that democracy is an information system, what we mean is that it's a way of figuring out what people want to do in some fair manner and what a country's policies should. It takes information about what people want and combines it together, and the output is some set of policy, some set of actions."
"When we say that democracy is an information system, what we mean is that it's a way of figuring out what people want to do in some fair manner and what a country's policies should. It takes information about what people want and combines it together, and the output is some set of policy, some set of actions. AI technology fundamentally processes information, and that is why it's going to affect democracy. This isn't new. Democracy has been affected by technology since its beginning."
Democracy functions as an information system that aggregates citizens' preferences into policies and actions. AI processes information and will therefore alter how those preferences are gathered, combined, and translated into public decisions. Historical technologies such as voting booths, trains, television, and the internet have already reshaped democratic processes. AI can be deployed for surveillance, control, and propaganda, creating risks to democratic fairness. AI can also be used as a tool to resist surveillance and strengthen fairness in systems. Regulation and a public-option alternative are necessary to balance the power of private companies and protect democratic outcomes.
Read at Harvard Gazette
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