Evolving governance: from representative democracy to AI leader

Exploring a post democracy society

Representative democracy was a revolutionary concept centuries ago when the US fought for its independence against the monarchy in England. Over the last few hundred years, every Western country has shifted to democracy and billions of humans have benefited.

However, as our societies have evolved into diverse, heavily populated entities, the limits of representative democracy have become increasingly evident. The United States grapples with political polarization and gridlock, while Europe's parliamentary democracies, though slightly more diverse in representation, face similar challenges in adapting to modern complexities. Climate change and gun control exemplify the urgent need for a governance model that transcends limitations like corporate lobbyists and election cycles. The problems with modern democracy are readily apparent, but what is the solution?

Crazy enough, I believe the answer lies in both more direct democracy and less people involved. I want a society governed not by politicians but by AI.

I doubt there’d be a physical form to this AI, but it would be kinda hilarious

AI is maturing fast, and ideas that once belonged in the pages of a sci-fi novel should be considered. AI could soon become the steward of a given society. A sufficiently advanced AI would have access to all human knowledge, understand how to discern patterns, and craft nuanced solutions. I’m thinking of an AI that understands and integrates the collective will of the people it governs and uses that will to govern its people.

We are all constantly online, so imagine that we have frequent but short opinion polls that pop up. When combined, these polls paint a real-time, dynamic portrait of public sentiment on each topic that the populous cares about, the AI then takes the people's will into account in its decisions. We don’t eliminate humans from the system we increase their participation. Currently, we have infrequent official voting with low turnout. In the 2020 US presidential election, there was a record-high voter turnout, with about 66.5% of eligible voters voting. The 80 million voices that didn’t vote go unheard, and that doesn’t consider legal residents and young people, whose voices could be considered but weighted lower than adult citizens. The 66.5% turnout wasn’t only a record for over 120 years; it was also for a federal election, which always has a higher turnout than state and city elections. Worse yet, the people voted for a president to represent them, not directly for what they care about. The president then has to coordinate with other elected representatives in the legislative branch. AI could sidestep all the horse-trading and election cycles and get straight to effective governance.

AI would not sideline human participation at all, rather, it would enhance it. The AI becomes the unbiased coordinator in executing the will of the people from the polls.

In addition to frequent participation in opinion polls, we could bring experts and specialized committees together to work with the AI on specific legislation. Each topic would have a diverse set of experts working directly with the AI, and we’d have more diverse viewpoints and better expertise being fed into lawmaking than we currently do. A congressperson can’t be an expert on a wide range of topics, so in our current system, legislation is written and handed to congresspeople by corporate lobbyists. AI, as the ultimate legislator and executor, takes the cake here over our current democracy.

Let’s look at the contentious issue of gun control in the US. Despite widespread support for reasonable measures, political paralysis prevails. School shootings become the norm, and guns now rank as the number one cause of death of American children. When polled, Americans overwhelmingly support reasonable gun control, but the politicians can’t make it happen. An impartial and data-driven AI system could synthesize public opinion and expert analysis, crafting legislation that truly mirrors the consensus and even adjusting policies to reflect local community nuances. Imagine a government that can take in all the data, all the opinions, and the expert analysis and work to solve issues at the root level. Just imagine a government that actually gets shit done.

If AI effectively manages the government, it’s only a small hop over to AI managing the economy. If AI can adeptly navigate legislative, executive, and judicial complexities, it could potentially oversee resource distribution and economic management, too. We could guarantee all humans on earth their basic necessities. I suspect AI is also the unlock to a post-capitalist society, but we’ll leave that for a future piece.

Imagining AI at the helm of governance doesn’t imply the end of democracy or human participation. It represents its evolution — a more direct and efficient form of democracy. AI could eliminate the inefficiencies of traditional government structures, bringing us closer to the genuine implementation of the people's will. We could be on the verge of opening the door to a world where AI and humanity collaboratively forge a more responsive, equitable, and effective society. This shift in governance, although radical, could be the key to unlocking our full human potential, leading us into a future where the collective good is not just hoped for but realized.