The Future Of Democracy And Government In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence.

As the rise of technology and AI has seemingly permeated every facet of society and continues to grow, it has got me thinking: how will AI influence governmental jobs, our justice system, and political campaigning? Will judges, political candidates, and government workers be replaced by robots, who are exempt from the unpredictable human emotions that can make politics and policy so complicated? How will artificial intelligence make governmental processes more efficient? This post will delve into the good, the bad, and the unknown relating to AI’s influence on the government. 

One of the main ways AI may aid governmental processes is through increasing efficiency in grant management and financial management sectors. The individuals who work in this area have to understand in which areas funds are allocated– some areas could be economic areas, infrastructure, technology—and that these funds are divided in a way that benefits the majority in society while also minimizing fraud. However, much of the work in identifying fraud involves tedious paperwork, creating data reports on grant allocation and reviewing applicants for grants and loans–all of which AI can help with. An example of this is when the National Institute of Health used AI to organize applicants for grants. According to Deloitte “this AI driven tool assists NIH referral staff in accurately directing applications to the appropriate review branches, ensuring each submission is evaluated promptly and fairly.”

While AI can be helpful in creating fast political messaging and advertising for campaigns, it also has the possibility of spreading mass misinformation. The problem with using AI for a lot of political marketing is that AI creates information so rapidly that it does not necessarily censor what is factually correct. Furthermore, AI can create false information online about certain candidates in political races and incorrect statements regarding current events. The largest problem about this is that this misinformation is not easily distinguishable to the general public. In 2020, the Journal of Democracy conducted a case study where they used AI to write hundreds of left-wing and right-wing advocacy letters; they then sent these letters to 7,200 state legislatures. Finally, they compared the response rates to the human created and AI generated letters and on three issues the response rates were essentially the same. Therefore, this can demonstrate how difficult it truly is to distinguish AI written misinformation which highlights the danger of a lot of AI driven political content. 

While there are many more ways AI will impact the realm of politics and government, the main message I hope you take away from this is that it is crucial to gather your information from several sources to decrease the likelihood of AI created misinformation. However, AI will continue to have the ability to increase efficiency in the government, and this could positively change the way our government runs and represents the general population.