AI & Political Freedom

The present moment is defined by both the emergence of powerful artificial intelligence and a deepening crisis of liberal democracy. Must they be opposing forces? Theoretically, AI could strengthen civic participation, enable more effective governance, and expand citizens’ capacity to hold powerful institutions to account. Yet, as we have seen, it can also place unprecedented pressure on democratic institutions, proliferate misinformation, and entrench corporate—and authoritarian—power in ways that prove difficult to reverse. Anthropic researcher and neuroscientist Matt Botvinick examines these possibilities in his new book, AI and Political Freedom: The Risk to Democracy and How to Respond, a subject he never imagined confronting when building his first neural network in the 1990s.

Join Botvinick in conversation with Chinmayi Arun, director of the Yale Project on Information and Society, where Botvinick is also a fellow, to explore how AI might alter the balance of power between citizens and the governments that represent them, and which direction those scales might tip. Drawing on perspectives from technology, law, and global governance, the duo will consider the interconnected short- and long-term risks to political freedom, as well as opportunities to harnessing technology for greater public participation. As AI advances amid growing strains on democratic institutions, what will determine whether it becomes an instrument of liberation, subjugation, or both?