Will artificial intelligence end democracy? In a new special package on AI and democracy, top experts weigh in on what a fast-developing technology that promises superhuman intelligence means for humanity and the political life that governs us.
Plus: Why global democracy is proving to be far more resilient than people think; how African church leaders became unlikely defenders of democracy; and the ways in which vast networks of hidden wealth are eating away at our democratic institutions.
Read the Journal of Democracy’s just-released October 2023 issue, available for free on Project MUSE through October 30.
- Despite worries about rising authoritarianism, write Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, democracies are enduring and even outperforming expectations.
- How did a little-known political reformer beat Guatemala’s ruling regime? By exploiting the fissures in the criminal oligarchy, explain Rachel A. Schwartz and Anita Isaacs.
- An expansive world of hidden wealth lies beneath the everyday economy. Charles Davidson and Ben Judah delve into the stealth network of tax havens, secret trusts, and offshore accounts that is weakening democratic institutions and fueling our worst enemies.
- How does Turkey’s autocratic president remain in power despite worsening economic and political crises? By using the levers of the state to shield his supporters from harm, while punishing the rest, write Senem Aydın-Düzgit, Mustafa Kutlay, and E. Fuat Keyman.
- Kate Baldwin examines why church leaders in Africa are sometimes civil society’s key defenders of liberal democracy against undemocratic political leadership.
- Theocratic democracy, the grand bargain between religious groups and political leaders, offers key insights into the relationship between faith, freedom, and the global democratic recession, writes Nilay Saiya.
- Is politics an arena without rules? No, and, increasingly, many are enshrined in constitutions. But, contend Tom Ginsburg and Mila Versteeg, countries that hardwire their political process into their founding charters face other risks.
Artificial Intelligence and Democracy
- AI with superhuman abilities could emerge within the next few years, warns Yoshua Bengio. We must act now to protect democracy, human rights, and our very existence.
- Generative AI can flood democratic societies with misinformation—sowing confusion for voters and government officials alike, write Sarah Kreps and Doug Kriner.
- Science fiction may soon become reality with the advent of AI systems that can independently pursue their own objectives. We need to establish guardrails now, writes Tom Davidson.
- AI is set to become a new stage for geopolitical conflict. In this contest, explain Eddie Yang and Margaret E. Roberts, autocracies have the advantage.
- AI will transform work and entire economies, bringing dire risks of rising inequality and job losses. But the worst outcomes can still be avoided write Stephanie A. Bell and Anton Korinek.
- Advances in AI are rapidly disrupting the foundations of democracy. We must reinvent our democratic infrastructure, argues Aviv Ovadya, to fit a different technological world.
View the full Table of Contents here.
For more, visit the JoD Online:
- Stop Trying to “Defeat” Russia and China by Ali Wyne and Liana Fix
- A Shock to Guatemala’s System by Will Freeman and Lucas Perelló
- Why the Defenders of Liberal Democracy Need to Stand Up by Ghia Nodia
- Why Ukraine is Critical to Rebuilding Our Democratic Consensus by Marc F. Plattner
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