Artificial Intelligence Reshaping the Future of Democracy - Diplomat Magazine with The NYT

IRAKLI BERIDZE Head of the Centre for AI and Robotics of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)

Scientific progress is yielding new technological tools that can deliver great benefits for society. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in particular, is having a worldwide impact on many sectors and, if harnessed appropriately, it could even help us to achieve the 17 ambitious global goals world leaders set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Great care and effort are required however if this is to be the case.

Technology by itself is, of course, politically neutral and the way it will shape societies and political organizations very much depends on its implementation by both the public and private sector, and its adaption through citizens. If we do not tread this path with great caution, it may raise very real and serious human rights concerns. This can be extremely damaging and undermine the trust placed in government by communities. Human rights, civil liberties and even the fundamental principles of law may be unacceptably exposed, or even irreparably damaged.

Yet, AI can also strengthen and preserve the democratic values of liberty and equality.

Global connectivity has brought undoubted benefits and convenience and has enriched the societal discourse through new forms of communication. The traditional unilateral communication instruments wielded by established media have been disrupted into multilateral digital communication and social media platforms. Standard social hierarchies are mutating into flat structures where anybody is approachable by a direct message. This closer interface between people and government promotes citizens involvement into the political landscape. Additionally, AI applications can understand individual preferences and help, for example, voters make more informed decisions, and, by extension, increase participation.

Recently we have observed the proliferation of apps to help voters chose their favourite party by answering political questions. While this politics gamification can boost election participation, they may also influence to tilt political preferences when the apps are not developed by neutral entities. These kind of recommender systems – similar to those of Amazon, Netflix or Spotify –can certainly have negative implications and need to be closer examined and regulated. Initially conceived to help users navigate in the flood of information, recommender systems, and the personalization of internet in general, can have negative side effects. This personalization algorithms can actually make people segregate into information bubbles, where their own beliefs are reinforced, and they are not exposed to opposite views. This may restrict people to a certain ideological frameworks leading to biases and a distorted outlook on the world. Information bubbles can fuel political polarization and may contribute to radicalization.

This unprecedented exchange of information has indeed amplified the spread of fake news and misinformation. In this regard, so called “deepfakes” are an example that pose farreaching challenges that can even raise national security concerns, for instance by threatening elections and undermining diplomacy, public discourse, and journalism. The technology is there and has been ‘democratized’, becoming easier to use through numerous applications, that enable individuals with little technical know-how, to create their own deepfakes.

Apart from information bubbles and misinformation, advances in AI-based surveillance technology, such as facial recognition, together with a web of surveillance cameras in public places, raise serious concerns regarding the possibility of governments, law enforcement and security services infringing citizens’ rights of privacy. While Surveillance infrastructure can be used to increase security, safety and traffic control, and are useful tools for the law enforcement agencies, there are far-reaching concerns of it giving rise to Orwellian police states.

At the same time, acknowledging the reality that AI is in fact increasingly being integrated into law enforcement, we must dive into the most critical aspect: using AI in a trustworthy and lawful manner. The use of AI by law enforcement agencies should endeavour to adhere to general principles, such as the respect for human rights, democracy, justice and the rule of law. To meet these principles, the development, deployment and use of AI should seek to adopt the requirements of fairness, accountability, transparency and explainability throughout the entire lifecycle of the system.

Regulation, in some shape or form, may be necessary to reduce the public risks that AI may pose and governments are increasingly being challenged to update national policies in order to fulfil the new needs and requirements of the global digital economy. Although there are some early deliberations on national or even international regulations, we are still far from creating real international governance mechanisms.

On the other hand, technological advances are happening faster than our ability to respond and, if governments cannot keep pace, we risk falling into a practice of prohibiting or banning in an event to minimise the risk that come with the use of AI. However, these approaches may restrict technology development and stifle innovation. There is no quick fix single solution for this problem. Dealing with such fastchanging technologies requires holistic solutions that monitor the technological advances and stay ahead of the foreseen problems proposing more advanced solutions. This is a process that requires a crossdiscipline and cross-national cooperation to discuss the legal and ethical implications of the large-scale use of AI. Promoting relationship-building and knowledge-sharing with stakeholders throughout the public sector, industry, academia is an essential next step.

The positive power and potential of AI are real, however, to access this, we must work towards ensuring its use is responsible and contributes to the sustainable development of society.