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2024 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Machine learning, political participation and the transformations of democratic self-determination

Authors : Jeanette Hofmann, Clara Iglesias Keller

Published in: Künstliche Intelligenz, Mensch und Gesellschaft

Publisher: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

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Abstract

This contribution addresses links between machine learning technologies and democracy with a focus on political participation. Democracy research often regards machine learning technologies as a threat, as these technologies could violate fundamental rights or replace democratic decision making. While raising important concerns, these approaches underestimate the malleability of digital technologies and their relationship to democracy. Our argument is that inherent to democratic practice we find a constant (re)negotiation of rights and institutions, in this case not least driven by the fact that machine learning technologies themselves are far from reaching maturity. The openness and negotiability of the relationship of AI and democracy is illustrated by three critical perspectives that hold special importance for political participation: algorithmic bias, automated decision-making and AI’s epistemic dimension. By reflecting the changing condition of political organisation, current research can be productive and even performative in the sense of co-defining a shared understanding of new technologies and aim to set standards for their legitimate use.

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As we demonstrate with examples throughout this text.

Although or precisely because artificial intelligence (AI) is currently a much-discussed topic, it is difficult to define it. For this reason, many experts completely abandon the term and switch to abstractions such as “predictive technologies”, “agentic machines”, or “algorithmic systems” (Joyce et al. 2021, p. 2; see also Dignum 2022). While this leads some observers to question the very existence of AI, others prefer to reserve the term for “whatever we are doing next in computing” (Recker et al. 2021, p. 1435). Nevertheless, the vague terminology proves to be a problem if one wants to investigate the interactions of AI with society and democracy. To avoid ambiguity, we refer instead to algorithmic systems, learning algorithms, or machine learning.

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Title: Machine learning, political participation and the transformations of democratic self-determination
Authors: Jeanette Hofmann
Clara Iglesias Keller
Publisher: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
Book: Künstliche Intelligenz, Mensch und Gesellschaft
Print ISBN: 978-3-658-43520-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-658-43521-9

Copyright Year: 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-43521-9_13

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