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Most discussions about artificial intelligence are either focused on the technology or are about the economics. However, it is going to have a significantly wider impact on us as humans and is likely to affect the ways our societies are organised. Including the democracy.

Lawrence Lessig, a professor at Harvard Law School, is the author of several books exploring the current state of democracy, potential threats that it is facing and possible mechanisms for protecting it. 

These are my three takeaways on the complex interactions of artificial intelligence and democracy  after watching the video with Lawrence’s lecture and his fireside chat with Erik Brynjolfsson that took place in spring 2024:

Lesson #1: Who’s in control?

Democracy, as Lawrence defines it, is an analogue artificial intelligence devoted to the common good. Corporations are an analogue artificial intelligence devoted to maximising shareholders’ value which is their objective function. 

All the parties – humans, democracy and corporations – have similar aspirations of gaining control. Humans try to control democracy through the election process, while democracy tries to control corporations through regulation. In reality, though, corporations might have already reached the state when they have control over democracy. 

Artificial intelligence comes on top of all the above parties. Corporations believe that they are in control of AI. However, it could very much be the case already that AI is in control of corporations.

It is not the AGI (artificial general intelligence) that we should be worried about. It is AI that already can engineer attention, overcome resistance and increase engagement with social media platforms. By exploiting collective human weakness AI overwhelms our collective human ability to decide what is good for us. 

Lesson #2: My bubble or yours?

Broadcasting has been the central organising method of the society since WW2 and until the 1980s. People were watching the same news at the same time or spending on average up to 30 minutes a day reading newspapers. 

The advancement of cable TV and the Internet has changed that – people watch whatever they want choosing by themselves which small channels to follow. The social platform feeds are designed to keep you focused on the content and spend and remain online. Engagement is their business model and they have one primary objective – to figure out what is going to get you hooked.

The unintended consequence of this is that you get to hear what you want to hear. People are seeking information that reinforces what they already know, which makes them feel good about their views. As a result, the gap between an individual and the world is growing. 

The real threat here is that the bubbles of reality we are living in are increasingly not capable of understanding each other.

Lesson #3: Where’s the money?

Some 20 years ago Francis Fukuyama introduced the term “vetocracy” referring to a situation where a small group has the effective power to block the capacity of an entity to make decisions or to act. The most poisonous vetocracy is the role of money. 

Money can create perverse incentives. Large sums can be spent or used as a credible threat to be spent on influencing decision-makers to achieve desired outcomes. 

Artificial intelligence and social network platforms exacerbate the power of vetocracy. The “small-dollar” money could be used to hijack the voters and entice them to consume and believe the most polarising content. For similar reasons, the “clown show” befitting behaviour serves one well to gain popularity and to rise to the top.

The threat here is that this content tends to become even more polarising, increasingly extreme and more hate-filled over time.     

On a final and more positive note, artificial intelligence can significantly lower the costs of deliberation. Deliberation, according to Lawrence, is essential to get back to democracy. It is the best curative technique against the polarisation.

For those willing to try and pick top lessons of their own here is a link to the video. You may also want to have a look at his recent book “They Don’t Represent Us: Reclaiming Our Democracy” (I may be receiving a commission if you decide to purchase it). 

* from anything that you are reading, watching or hearing you can realistically expect to remember only a limited number of things. My solution is to pick just 3 items or ideas from any material. This number is non-negotiable. Even the most extraordinary experience gets compressed into 3 things to remember. This approach has worked well for me.

This note was first published on Medium on 25 November 2024.

Aivars Jurcans has more than 20 years of corporate finance and investment banking experience. His services are currently available through Murinus Advisers. More of Aivars’ writings can be found on his page Corporate Financier’s Notes.