Across the world Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used as a tool for political
manipulation and totalitarian repression. Stories about AI are often stories of polarization
discrimination surveillance and oppression. Is democracy in danger? And can we do anything
about it? In this compelling book Mark Coeckelbergh offers a guide to the key risks posed by
AI for democracy. He argues that AI as it is currently used and developed not only aids
totalitarian regimes but also undermines the fundamental principles on which liberal
democracies are founded such as freedom and equality. How can we make democracy more resilient
in the face of AI? And more positively what can AI do for democracy? Coeckelbergh advocates
not only for more democratic technologies but also for new political institutions and a
renewal of education and culture to ensure that AI promotes rather than hinders the common
good and helps us to revamp humanism for the 21st century. Why AI Undermines Democracy and What
To Do About It is illuminating reading for anyone who is concerned about the fate of democracy.
