AI and the Death of Democracy: Are Elections Now Just a Technicality?

We’ve been told that democracy is the cornerstone of our society. We, the people, make the decisions. We vote, we choose our leaders, we shape our future. That’s the narrative we’ve all been fed. But here’s the uncomfortable truth we’re starting to avoid: elections are now just a technicality, and AI might be the reason why.

Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? A bit overblown, maybe? Well, stick with me for a minute. The idea that AI could be eroding democracy may seem like a conspiracy theory at first glance, but the more you peel back the layers, the clearer it becomes: AI is not just changing the way we vote; it’s changing the very nature of the vote itself.

The Myth of Free and Fair Elections

At its core, democracy is supposed to be about choice. We get to decide, every few years or so, who represents us, who makes the laws, and who wields power on our behalf. But the sad reality is that we’re not as free as we think we are. Election campaigns aren’t decided by the merits of candidates or the needs of the people—they’re decided by how well candidates can manipulate algorithms.

Let’s talk about the so-called "data revolution." AI is being used to influence our votes long before we step into the polling booth. We’re told that AI in elections is just about “targeted advertising” or “personalised messaging”—you know, just a little something to help candidates connect with their electorate. But what happens when those ‘messages’ are tailored so specifically to our weaknesses, our insecurities, and our deepest fears?

When a political campaign uses AI to micro-target voters with advertisements designed to trigger emotional responses, we’re no longer participating in an election. We’re being manipulated. Elections aren’t about discussing ideas or policies anymore—they’re about exploiting algorithms to get people to vote the way they’re nudged to. The more data you feed into AI, the more it learns to predict and influence your every choice. So, when you vote, do you really know if you’re voting for the candidate you truly believe in? Or are you voting for the candidate AI has subtly guided you toward?

The Illusion of Choice

Now, let’s take this one step further. What if the very candidates you’re voting for aren’t even real? Well, they are—sort of. Enter the world of deepfakes and AI-generated personas. Imagine an election where a candidate’s speeches, debates, and social media presence are entirely curated by AI, tailored to appeal to the exact demographic that is most likely to sway their vote. Sure, the candidate still has a face, a name, and an agenda. But do they have any real influence, or is that influence being artificially generated and managed by AI systems running in the background?

In some ways, this is already happening. During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, AI was used to generate content that would appeal to specific voting blocks. While not quite as sinister as creating a whole fake candidate, it’s not hard to see how AI could take this a step further. What’s to stop campaigns from creating AI-driven personas that appear more relatable or charismatic than the real candidates themselves?

With AI shaping not just the message but the messenger, how can we claim our votes are truly our own? When you vote, are you really choosing someone, or are you choosing a machine-crafted persona that’s been optimized for your subconscious preferences?

The Algorithmic Slaughter of Public Discourse

But the manipulation doesn’t stop with targeted ads and AI personalities. The real damage is happening in the way we consume information. AI is reshaping the way we engage with political discourse by creating echo chambers. Thanks to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, algorithms now control what we see. And what do these algorithms prioritise? Outrage. Conflict. Controversy. Anything that gets a reaction.

This isn’t about promoting healthy, informed political discourse. It’s about pushing buttons—our buttons. AI algorithms don’t care about truth, nuance, or fairness. They care about engagement. The more extreme the opinion, the more likely it is to spread. So, what happens when an entire population is fed a constant diet of sensationalized, hyper-polarising political content? We end up divided, misinformed, and more easily manipulated.

This isn’t some dystopian future scenario. It’s already happening. Studies have shown that AI-driven algorithms play a huge role in creating filter bubbles where people are only exposed to views that align with their own, making it easier for politicians and special interest groups to manipulate the narrative.

And here’s the kicker: AI doesn’t just amplify the message—it refines it. It watches how people respond, tweaks its approach, and tries again. The algorithm learns from every click, every like, every comment. Political campaigns aren’t just advertising—they’re performing a delicate psychological dance, using AI to adjust in real-time based on how we react.

The Threat to Electoral Integrity

Let’s get to the heart of it. In the age of AI, how can we be sure that elections are even fair? AI isn’t just influencing the way we vote—it’s influencing the very process of voting itself. From predicting voter turnout to redrawing electoral boundaries, AI is being used to manipulate not just what we see but how we cast our ballots.

Take the example of "gerrymandering." Traditionally, this is the process of drawing electoral districts to favour one political party over another. Now, AI is taking gerrymandering to a whole new level. AI can analyse vast amounts of data to find the perfect way to redraw boundaries, making sure that the party in power stays in power. This process is so sophisticated that it’s nearly impossible to spot, let alone prevent.

If AI can manipulate our political environment to such an extent, then what’s the point of holding elections at all? If the system is rigged from the start, if our votes are guided by algorithms and our candidates are nothing more than AI-generated avatars, how can we still claim to have a democratic system?

The Consequences of a Post-Democratic Society

Here’s where things get truly alarming. When elections become just another technicality, the very concept of democracy is under threat. Democracy isn’t just about casting votes—it’s about accountability, transparency, and genuine choice. It’s about knowing that the person in power has earned the trust of the people and is truly representing them.

When AI takes over the political process, we lose that connection. Our representatives become puppets controlled by algorithms, and we, the people, become passive participants in a charade. The power of the vote becomes diluted, reduced to nothing more than a means of feeding data into a system that’s already decided the outcome.

What happens when people lose faith in the democratic process? What happens when they realise that their vote doesn’t really matter, because the outcome is already shaped by invisible forces? Cynicism, disillusionment, and, in the worst cases, apathy. A society where people no longer believe their vote matters is a society ripe for authoritarian control. And AI is the perfect tool for that kind of control.

Taking Back Democracy

So, what’s the solution? Is it too late to save democracy from the grip of AI? Not necessarily. But we need to start taking these issues seriously. We need to demand transparency in how AI is used in political campaigns. We need to hold social media platforms accountable for the algorithms that are shaping political discourse. We need to put limits on AI-driven manipulation and ensure that human voices, not machines, are leading our societies.

Democracy isn’t dead. But it’s on life support. And if we don’t wake up and address the impact AI is having on our political systems, we might just find ourselves living in a world where elections are nothing more than a technicality—and democracy is just a hollow word.

Further reading: https://www.portside.wales/can-universities-detect-chatgpt-key-facts-on-ai-and-academic-integrity-for-students/