Following Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) final speech, AI Analytics Forum, which focused on elections and good governance, all eyes are on the growing intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and democracy. Complementing the Senate’s series of bipartisan forums, the Biden administration’s recent debates decree on AI and Vice President Kamala Harris’ journey in the UK to attend the AI Safety Summit. This increased focus on AI comes at a time of increased attention to the state of democracy in the United States and around the world. In this first part of a new series on the risks and opportunities of the confluence between AI and democracy, we provide insight into three main areas where AI can transform democratic governance and its execution. Future episodes of the series will offer more in-depth analysis of these topics and policy recommendations for lawmakers.
Election administration
AI could help election officials and workers in their critical efforts to oversee polls, whether in the United States or in democracies around the world. For example, AI could revamp election administration processes to make them more efficient, reliable and secure. When monitored carefully, AI could identify regarding anomalies in the electoral lists and voting machines for get ahead discover fraud or deprivation of the right to vote. AI-powered tabulators could scan paper ballots faster than election officials, thereby reducing the time needed to report election results or conduct a recount. This faster clip could help quell accusations of fraud in close, contentious races like those seen following the 2020 election, when an influx of mail-in ballots required counting over several days in several key states .
But election administrators must be wary of the possible risks. AI’s ability to locate and synthesize large amounts of public data can generate phishing attacks suitable for election officials whose contact details exist in the public domain. While these officials have privileged access to sensitive voter and government data, the integrity of the elections they oversee can be compromised if their personal information and administrative tasks are exploited by malware or ransomware. AI models could also be designed to suppress and further disenfranchise voters by spreading misinformation or disinformation, particularly to less informed citizens who may be more vulnerable to unwarranted remarks. stories of election fraud. There could also be partisan bias in the way voter rolls are “cleaned” using AI, with minority voters disproportionately targeted.
Campaigns and voter education
AI is already changing the way election candidates run their campaigns in the United States and other democracies around the world. New technologies are also reshaping – for better and worse – how voters locate and consume information about candidates and issues. These changes present opportunities and risks at every step leading up to Election Day.
Opportunities for AI to democratize, improve, and level the playing field of campaigning abound. AI tools could reduce financial barriers upon entry for new and underfunded applicants. Digital fundraising mechanisms could benefit from artificial intelligence rationalization. Candidates can also benefit from targeted advertisements which more effectively reach undecided voters. This has the effect of better informing the electorate about the options available to them at the polls. AI can be used effectively and transparently by election administration officials to track and report harmful hate speech this unfairly tips the scales for candidates and impacts voters’ decision-making.
Conversely, AI can make the situation worse. flood misinformation and disinformation now typical of the election period. AI equips illiberals non-state actors And autocracies with a range of relatively inexpensive unmanned tools through which adversaries can further alienate the electorate, fueling caustic polarization and internal destabilization. Political bots, deep fakesand other AI-generated visuals have already scrambled pre-election information ecosystems in democracies around the world. The ability of AI to generate quickly “pink vase“, news sites composed entirely of fake news, shows its potential to boost pre-existing information. election interference tactical. The risk of AI-fueled information chaos is growing as many democracies head toward high-stakes elections. 2024.
Citizen engagement and participation
Besides elections and voting, other dimensions of democratic governance are expected to benefit and meet the challenges of the AI revolution, both domestically and internationally. New technologies will help citizens express their opinions, organize others like-minded, and take action on their priorities beyond the ballot box. However, these same technologies can also allow bad actors to disguise their machinations as real public sentiments.
AI could further democratize the public consultation process, the cornerstone of public influence on policy and rule-making. Machine learning can collect and summarize an individual’s interests and can potentially match those priorities with specific issues on which regulatory agencies receive public comment. Generative AI can help both activists and seasoned politicians at the national and local levels make their comments more compelling to diverse audiences. Such technology can also bolster citizens’ understanding complex legislation that their elected officials are considering by simplifying the legislative text and following the votes of their representatives.
The flip side is that advocacy groups or individuals seeking to distort public opinion may find an ally in AI. AI-based programs, like ChatGPT, can make letters to elected officials, public comments, and other written endorsements of specific bills or positions that are often difficult to distinguish of those written by real voters. These fabrications – and the speed and volume at which they can be created – can be used to generate the appearance of public consensus on a given issue and pressuring legislators to act on a desired agenda. Worse still, voice and image replicas used from generative AI tools can also imitate candidates and elected officials. These tactics could confuse voters and degrade their confidence in the electoral process if voters become aware of such scams.
Conclusion
The stakes are high for identifying emerging risks and rewards at the confluence of AI and democracy. Next year, very important elections will take place in the United States and other countries around the world, together representing more than 3.5 billion people. Anti-democratic actors and autocrats will seek every opportunity to undermine confidence in democracy, targeting systems that ensure free and fair elections and good governance.
Democratic governments, policymakers, and election supporters are responding by adopting best practices and issuing necessary warnings. The Biden administration’s aforementioned executive order on AI was rented as a promising starting point for a top-down approach to these new technologies. AI-friendly and wary lawmakers have begun to set their sights on a bipartisan AI Regulation diet. And civil society has an important role to play, as evidenced by the work of organizations like the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under LawTHE Brennan Center for Justice, Public citizenand Brookings (which makes its own in-depth work on the subject). Like many others, they leverage their technical expertise and commitment to democracy to provide cutting-edge advice to local, state, and federal regulators.
Minimizing the disruptive effects of the AI revolution and maximizing its positive democratic potential is an imperative for the upcoming 2024 US presidential election and other equally crucial elections. But the need for effective and transparent strategies and guidelines extends beyond next year. AI-based tools are in their infancy. Their impacts will likely touch every sector and function of government, from how agencies collect data to how elections are conducted to how voters register to vote and cast ballots. As technologies evolve, policymakers, advocates, and citizens will need to keep pace to ensure AI is harnessed as a force for a better, more inclusive democracy.
