AI and democracy

Our new series examines the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence for elections. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Chris Burnett

AI’s Threats to Election Security

Increasing awareness of the power of artificial intelligence coincides with growing public anxiety about the future of democracy, with significant concern about AI’s potential to harm elections. A new series from the Brennan Center and Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology explores how AI could impact various parts of our democratic system. The first installment highlights how new tools could enable election cyberattacks and misinformation at an unprecedented scale. Mitigating these risks will require election offices and vendors to double down on the election security best practices that experts have been recommending for years.

AI Makes a Bad Idea Worse

Amid controversial state laws banning school libraries from carrying books about gender and sexuality, some are using generative AI tools to identify books with supposedly inappropriate content. However, these tools are prone to error, and relying on them to enforce book bans risks wrongly removing an overbroad list of books from shelves. These bans are already a threat to free speech and students’ access to information, and AI only stands to magnify these dangers.

The Ongoing Fight Over Voting Access

Continuing the post-2020 trend, a stark divide remains between the states making it easier to vote and those making it harder. The latest edition of our Voting Laws Roundup shows that so far this year, 23 states have enacted expansive voting laws. Meanwhile, 14 states have enacted restrictive voting laws, which may have drastic consequences for voters who wish to participate in the 2024 elections.

Protecting Science from Politics

The politicization of public health during the Covid-19 pandemic revealed a disturbing trend at the state and local levels. A new Brennan Center report highlights major abuses, including the suppression and distortion of inconvenient data and the intimidation or censorship of experts. These manipulations have serious consequences for public health, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. Implementing practical reforms to safeguard science in policymaking is essential to rebuild public trust and protect the nation’s health and well-being.

SCOTUS’s Abuses of History

In its last two terms, the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has struck down abortion rights, gun control, and affirmative action in the name of history. But leading historians have said that the justices’ reliance on originalism, a method of interpreting the Constitution based on its supposed “original meaning,” oversimplifies history, ignoring its complexity and context. Rejecting the Court’s misuse of history is key to moving toward a more nuanced view of the past that can help the law adapt to society’s changing needs.

Troubling Counterterrorism Tactics

The FBI’s methods for fighting terrorism have come under scrutiny following the recent compassionate release of three men convicted in the “Newburgh Four” sting operation. The federal judge’s decision highlighted the injustice of lengthy sentences in a case where an FBI informant played a central role in planning the crime — actions that are condoned by the bureau’s guidelines. Congress must establish stricter oversight and guidelines for the bureau’s investigative powers to ensure they’re used to uncover genuine threats, not create criminal plots.