Algorithmic Elections? AI and the Electoral System

Published date01 December 2023
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/20419058231218326
AuthorMuiris MacCarthaigh
Date01 December 2023
34 POLITICAL INSIGHT DECEMBER 2023
In November, Rishi Sunak hosted a
global summit on Articial Intelligence
at Bletchley Park in England. Delegates
from 28 countries pledged to tackle AI’s
potentially ‘catastrophic’ risks. The politicians
are not alone in their fears about how AI
might change the world: indeed, there are
few domains of state, society or the market
where AI is not making itself felt with the
promise of eciency gain, increased accuracy
and cost-savings. In some sectors, such as
nancial management or the production of
digital art and design, AI has already reshaped
the industry. And as more applications based
on generative AI appear, the opportunities
and risks become evident. In contrast, the
eorts by governments to try and legislate
for the use of AI is only now beginning
to meet the pace of this change. There is
much interest globally in the EU’s ‘AI Act’,
due by year end, which will represent the
rst comprehensive attempt to regulate the
production, distribution and use of AI.
Much of the focus on AI amongst
mainstream political science has been
on the consequences of the interaction
between electoral politics and AI-powered
social media. The risks here are obvious: the
dissemination of fake news, disinformation
and false geopolitical narratives, generating
‘deep fakes’ and in general skewing the
content of political debate and ultimately
the behaviour of voters (see also the piece
in this issue by Kate Dommett). Others point
to the role of AI in changing state-society
relations. AI has already altered the nature
of public service delivery in policing and
justice sectors where issues such as predictive
policing and robot judges have generated
controversy. Articial Intelligence also has the
scope to alter the generation of policy advice
for decision-makers, and to supersede the
Algorithmic
Elections? AI and
the Electoral System
The potential role of Artif‌icial Intelligence in political campaigning
has attracted signif‌icant attention. But how might AI affect the
actual running of elections themselves? Muiris MacCarthaigh
investigates.
essential knowledge-synthesising role of the
civil service.
AI and election regulations
One area that has received less attention is
how AI might aect electoral regulations and
the actual running of elections themselves,
i.e. the electoral system. Electoral systems are
critical to the democratic health of society.
Ensuring the integrity of the structures and
processes of such systems can aect public
trust in elections and democracy itself, and
therefore the propensity to vote.
Articial Intelligence and Electoral Integrity
was the theme of the 2022 European
Conference of Electoral Management
Bodies, organised by the Venice Commission
(the Council of Europe’s advisory body on
constitutional matters including elections
and referendums). However, the focus was
primarily on the information ecosystem and
such issues as digital micro-targeting rather
than the core electoral system itself. In part
this is because AI has not yet been extensively
used in election system management but this
is unlikely to remain the case for long given AI’s
promise of system transformation.
Political Insight December 2023 BU.indd 34Political Insight December 2023 BU.indd 34 10/11/2023 11:4010/11/2023 11:40

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