AI and Democracy: a complicated relationship
Does AI strengthen or erode democracy? Both, simultaneously. On the one hand: simplified access to civic information, multilingual participation, large-scale analysis of public input. On the other: political microtargeting that exploits psychological vulnerabilities, information fragmentation, electoral deepfakes. The key: digital civic literacy, algorithmic transparency, anticipatory rather than reactive governance. The future depends on collective choices, not on technology per se.