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Democracy and AI

Understanding the promises and perils that AI holds for the future of our democracy

Related Programs

Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, GETTING-Plurality, Reimagining Democracy Program

The proliferation of artificial intelligence has the potential to upend our democracy — for better or worse.

AI tools could allow for new forms of participation while at the same time facilitating the spread of misinformation. As regulators and policymakers struggle to understand the implications of this new technology, Ash Center experts are answering questions about how best to govern AI and not just reactively respond to the many issues that continue to arise.

Can AI be a force for good in our democracy? How do we prevent it from becoming a tool for those who wish to undermine our institutions and trust?

Explore our latest events, research, and writing below.

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Reimagining Democracy for AI

Additional Resource

Reimagining Democracy for AI

“Reimagining Democracy for AI” by Aviv Ovadya was featured in the October 2023 Journal of Democracy.

Abstract: AI advances are shattering assumptions that both our democracies and our international order rely on. Reinventing our “democratic infrastructure” is thus critically necessary—and the author argues that it is also possible. Four interconnected and accelerating democratic paradigm shifts illustrate the potential: representative deliberations, AI augmentation, democracy-as-a-service, and platform democracy. Such innovations provide a viable path toward not just reimagining traditional democracies but enabling the transnational and even global democratic processes critical for addressing the broader challenges posed by destabilizing AI advances—including those relating to AI alignment and global agreements. We can and must rapidly invest in such democratic innovation if we are to ensure that our democratic capacity increases with our power.

The Dark Side of AI: Crime and Adversarial Use Cases

Video

The Dark Side of AI: Crime and Adversarial Use Cases

“The Dark Side of AI: Crime and Adversarial Use Cases” webinar session featured the following speakers and topics:

  • Bruce Schneier (Harvard): Hackers and Security Vulnerabilities
  • Matt Groh (Northwestern): Deepfakes and Misinformation, see related paper The Art and Science of Generative AI
  • Shlomit Wagman (Harvard): Financial Crime
  • Jennifer Calvery (HSBC): Financial Crime

Who’s accountable for AI usage in digital campaign ads? Right now, no one.
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Commentary

Who’s accountable for AI usage in digital campaign ads? Right now, no one.

In a new essay, Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders argue that AI is poised to dramatically ramp up digital campaigns and outline how accountability measures across platforms, government, and the media can curb risks.

Introduction to AI and Public Policy

Video

Introduction to AI and Public Policy

The “Introduction to AI and Public Policy” webinar session featured the following speakers and topics:

  • Danielle Allen (Harvard): AI and Democracy
  • Sandy Pentland (MIT): A Practical Framework for Data and AI systems for Regulators
  • Shayne Longpre (MIT): A Primer in Large Language Models
  • Gabriele Mazzini (European Commission): Overview of the EU AI Act

It’s not too late to reimagine AI’s role in the world
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Feature

It’s not too late to reimagine AI’s role in the world

Computer scientist turned social scientist Ashley Lee discusses how policymakers and technologists alike can change the way AI is used — or not used — across the globe.

Disclosure Dilemmas: AI Transparency is No Quick Fix
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Commentary

Disclosure Dilemmas: AI Transparency is No Quick Fix

In a new essay, Mary Graham argues that transparency measures can help curtail AI-related risks but not overnight — transparency efforts require sustained, long-term engagement and effort.

GETTING-Plurality Comments to White House OSTP on National Priorities for Artificial Intelligence

Policy Brief

GETTING-Plurality Comments to White House OSTP on National Priorities for Artificial Intelligence

The GETTING-Plurality Research Network submitted a series of memos which respond to various questions posed around the topics of bolstering democracy and civic participation; protecting rights, safety, and national security; and promoting economic growth and good jobs.

AI could shore up democracy – here’s one way
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Commentary

AI could shore up democracy – here’s one way

What if AI turns out to be the one tool able to identify what makes your ideas special, recognizing your unique perspective and potential on the issues where it matters most?

How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy
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Commentary

How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy

In a new article for the Conversation, Ash Center Director Archon Fung and Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig introduce Clogger, a hypothetical political campaign in a black box.

Putting Flourishing First: Applying Democratic Values to Technology
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Policy Brief

Putting Flourishing First: Applying Democratic Values to Technology

In this short web ethics research brief, the authors unpack and comment on the four-step logic at the core of GETTING-Plurality’s foundational white paper, Ethics of Decentralized Social Technologies: Lessons from Web3, the Fediverse, and Beyond. They outline four assertions from the paper that demonstrate the power and the challenge of web ethics – and above all, the urgency – of placing human flourishing at the center of technology governance.

Plural Publics
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Policy Brief

Plural Publics

The authors highlight why we believe the problem of “plural publics” to be a core challenge of data governance, discuss existing tools that can help achieve it and a research agenda to further develop and integrate these tools.

Bruce Schneier Wants to Recreate Democracy
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Feature

Bruce Schneier Wants to Recreate Democracy

Arguing that American democracy has been hacked, the computer security expert doesn’t want to just fiddle on the margins when it comes to re-envisioning what a new 21st-century American democracy should look like.

How AI could write our laws

Commentary

How AI could write our laws

ChatGPT and other AIs could supercharge the influence of lobbyists—but only if we let them.

Book Talk – A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules, and How to Bend them Back

Video

Book Talk – A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules, and How to Bend them Back

You’re invited to watch a book talk with Harvard Kennedy School’s Bruce Schneier, author of “A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules, and How to Bend them Back.” Schneier was joined in conversation by moderator Archon Fung, Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government.

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