As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies advance, they increasingly shape how democratic and autocratic governments operate, how political actors communicate, and how citizens engage with the public sphere. This seminar offers an in-depth and interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between AI and democracy, combining foundational knowledge of AI systems with cutting-edge research on their political and societal implications.
The course begins with an introduction to core concepts: What is AI? How does it work? And under what conditions can it be effectively and safely applied? Building on this technical and conceptual groundwork, we explore how AI affects democratic institutions and processes—such as public discourse, elections, political communication, and regulatory governance—as well as how AI technologies are used by autocratic regimes for control and surveillance.
Weekly sessions are structured around thematic case studies and comparative readings that examine topics such as:
Campaigning, microtargeting, and opinion shaping through AI
Students will engage with contemporary scholarly debates through active discussion, critical reading, and presentations based on empirical research and theoretical analysis. The seminar draws on examples from across democratic and autocratic systems, with an emphasis on how AI technologies interact with broader processes of digital transformation, institutional change, and value contestation.
For a comprehensive outline of weekly topics and assigned readings, please refer to the full syllabus here.