Matthew Botvinick

Matthew Botvinick

Anthropic, Yale University

AI and Democracy

Room 121 NYU Meyer Hall, 4 Washington Place

Abstract

The present historical moment is defined by two converging events: the emergence of powerful artificial intelligence, and a crisis of liberal democracy. I’ll discuss what might occur as these two stormfronts meet. There is every reason to believe that AI could improve democratic life, enhancing civic participation and enabling government to operate more efficiently and effectively. However, there is also reason to expect that AI will put unprecedented pressure on democratic institutions, catalyzing democratic backsliding and allowing any shift toward authoritarianism to become deeply entrenched. Drawing from my recent book, AI and Political Freedom, I’ll map out a specific network of short-term and long-term risks, and offer ideas for how we might prepare.