The accelerated expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the relationship between the State, citizens, and power, at a time when democracies are facing processes of institutional erosion, political polarization, disinformation, and a loss of public trust. This convergence poses a central challenge for public policy: how to govern technologies capable of modifying the production and circulation of information, service delivery, decision-making, and state surveillance capabilities without deepening existing inequalities and democratic deficits?
This panel proposes to analyze AI not solely as a technological innovation, but as a political phenomenon that redistributes capabilities, resources, and power among governments, businesses, social organizations, and citizens. We are particularly interested in examining how regulatory frameworks and public policies are responding to risks such as disinformation, surveillance, discrimination, and the concentration of technological capabilities in private actors. At the same time, the panel will explore the potential of AI to strengthen state capabilities, improve public services, broaden citizen participation, and support new forms of deliberation and accountability.
The discussion will be organized around three questions. First, how can the adoption of AI accelerate processes of democratic erosion or generate new forms of power that are not subject to effective mechanisms of public control? Second, what institutional, regulatory, and administrative capabilities do States need to develop in order to govern AI democratically? Third, what public policy innovations can harness its benefits without compromising rights, pluralism, transparency, and citizen autonomy?
We welcome theoretical and empirical contributions, whether comparative or focused on national cases, that help us understand the interaction between AI, public policy, and democratic transformation. The panel aspires to contribute to the debate on how to renew democratic institutions and strengthen their capacity to govern technologies that are already redefining the conditions of public life.
