University of Kwazulu-Natal

An Agenda To Strengthen U S Democracy In The Age Of Ai Brennan

Bonisiwe Shabane
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an agenda to strengthen u s democracy in the age of ai brennan

The year 2024 began with bold predictions about how the United States would see its first artificial intelligence (AI) election. 1 Commentators worried that generative AI — a branch of AI that can create new images, audio, video, and text — could produce deepfakes that would so inundate users of social media that they... 2 Meanwhile, some self-labeled techno-optimists proselytized how AI could revolutionize voter outreach and fundraising, thereby leveling the playing field for campaigns that otherwise could not afford expensive political consultants and staff. 3 As the election played out, AI was employed in numerous ways: Foreign adversaries used the technology to augment their election interference by creating copycat news sites filled with what appeared to be AI-generated fake... 4 Campaigns leveraged deepfake technology to convincingly imitate politicians and produce misleading advertisements.

5 Activists deployed AI systems to support voter suppression efforts. 6 Candidates and supporters used AI tools to build political bot networks, translate materials, design eye-catching memes, and assist in voter outreach. 7 And election officials experimented with AI to draft social media content and provide voters with important information like polling locations and hours of operation. 8 Of course, AI likely was also used during this election in ways that have not yet come into focus and may only be revealed months or even years from now. Were the fears and promises overhyped? Yes and no.

It would be a stretch to claim that AI transformed U.S. elections last year to either effect, and the worst-case scenarios did not come to pass. 9 But AI did play a role that few could have imagined a mere two years ago, and a review of that role offers some important clues as to how, as the technology becomes... elections — and American democracy more broadly — in the coming years. AI promises to transform how government interacts with and represents its citizens, and how government understands and interprets the will of its people. 10 Revelations that emerge about AI’s applications in 2024 can offer lessons about the guardrails and incentives that must be put in place now — lest even more advanced iterations of the technology be...

elections and democratic governance as a whole. This report lays out the Brennan Center’s vision for how policymakers can ensure that AI’s inevitable changes strengthen rather than weaken the open, responsive, accountable, and representative democracy that all Americans deserve. Now is the time for policymakers at all levels to think deliberately and expansively about how to minimize AI’s dangers and increase its pro-democracy potential. That means more than just passing new laws and regulations that relate directly to election operations. It also includes holding AI developers and tech companies accountable for their products’ capacities to influence how people perceive facts and investing in the resources (including workforces and tools) and audit regimes that will... Policymakers should also establish guardrails for election officials and other public servants that allow them to use AI in ways that improve efficiency, responsiveness, and accountability while not inadvertently falling prey to the technology’s...

Nicol Turner Lee, Joseph B. Keller, Cameron F. Kerry, Aaron Klein, Anton Korinek, Mark MacCarthy, Mark Muro, Chinasa T. Okolo, Courtney C. Radsch, John Villasenor, Darrell M. West, Tom Wheeler, Andrew W.

Wyckoff, Rashawn Ray, Mishaela Robison Melanie W. Sisson, Colin Kahl, Sun Chenghao, Xiao Qian Norman Eisen, Renée Rippberger, Jonathan Katz AI will transform our democracy. Now is the time for states to set up guardrails to protect personal data, improve transparency and ensure election security.

https://bit.ly/41fvpEs Erik Brynjolfsson is the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Professor and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), and Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. He also is the Ralph Landau Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), Professor by Courtesy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford Department of Economics, and a... by Erik BrynjolfssonDirector, Stanford Digital Economy Lab This article originally appeared on Fortune.com. Most Americans associate the year 1776 with the country’s independence, but a lot more happened that year.

Scottish inventor Thomas Watt introduced an improved steam engine that ushered in the Industrial Revolution. Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, providing a fresh vision for economics. This convergence of transformative technological, economic, and political activity completely reshaped the way people lived, worked, and governed themselves. It was a time when leaders were reimagining the very purpose of our nascent democratic institutions and how to proceed in a way that was best for all citizens. Almost 250 years later, we’re at a similar convergence. The introduction and rapid progression of artificial intelligence (AI) presents our society with unprecedented challenges but also opportunities that, if approached thoughtfully, could strengthen Americans’ engagement with the democratic process.

As submitted to the Office of Science and Technology Policy in response to a Request For Information asking for input for their upcoming US AI Action Plan Artificial Intelligence (AI) is more than a technological breakthrough—it is a transformative force shaping the future economy, security landscape, global power dynamics, and daily life. The US, along with its international allies and private sector leaders, must navigate a pivotal moment where their choices will determine whether AI advances democracy and human progress or fuels authoritarianism and societal instability. To ensure AI remains a force for good, a comprehensive strategy must prioritize: These challenges require decisive action to prevent AI from being exploited for dominance and control. With strategic leadership, the US and its allies can harness AI to uphold democracy, drive economic growth, and promote global stability.

The rapid evolution of AI, particularly the potential emergence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), presents both opportunities and challenges that require strategic, proactive oversight to ensure AI systems remain aligned with human preferences, dignity,... While the possibility and timeline for AGI remain widely debated, the need for AI systems to operate under responsible human oversight is clear. Rather than imposing excessive regulatory constraints, the responsible development of AI requires a collaborative approach among policymakers, industry leaders, and global partners to ensure human oversight, ethical use, and continued innovation. Moreover, the principles of responsible AI oversight must also be extended to AI-enabled technologies such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and other scientific advancements that can be leveraged for economic competitiveness, while ensuring safeguards against misuse. Just as collaborative AI governance is essential to advancing US leadership and security, parallel safeguards must support the responsible integration of AI across other technology sectors. The views expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights or Harvard Kennedy School.

These perspectives have been presented to encourage debate on important public policy challenges. The further development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is safely left to Big Tech, climate change is not a problem the current generation should address, and neither AI nor climate change are human rights concerns. If you believe this much, the new American AI Action Plan along with executive orders (EOs) on Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure, and... Equally welcome will be the administration's concurrent efforts to undermine the legal basis on which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) combats climate change, as well as its efforts to force the European Union to... But suppose you do believe there should be appropriate governmental and indeed societal oversight over what the private sector does with AI, that this generation does have a responsibility to combat climate change, and... Then you might well think of these developments as more evidence that this administration takes enormous risks with human flourishing, including the flourishing of Americans.

You will probably also think this administration neither cares about future generations, nor about partnerships around the world, nor even about bringing along much of the country. The U.S. treats countries in its orbit as customers at best and client states at worst. Instead, what you might well see is how this administration imagines the emerging world order. My purpose is to argue that this vision should concern us: a world in which the U.S. and China are major competitors, but the U.S.

has a decisive edge; the U.S. treats countries in its orbit as customers at best and client states at worst; AI becomes critical to the American economy—both domestically and for exports—while its large-scale deployment advances what Shoshana Zuboff has aptly... Human rights do not appear in this brave new world.

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