Current focus

The politics of AI

Adoption · Public opinion · Legitimacy

As AI has grown more capable and more important in society, it has become both a subject of politics and a tool in it. People contest the resources spent on AI and how it should be regulated, which can open new political divides or deepen old ones. Politicians, campaigns, and governments use AI. This can shift power between actors and raises questions of adoption, organizational learning, and who gains and who loses. Societies will also have to settle which uses of AI are legitimate, especially in sensitive areas such as government, the military, the police, and political persuasion.

I study how actors use AI, what that changes, what people think of it, and the attempts to govern and regulate AI and its applications.

Selected publications

  • Artificial Intelligence and Democracy

    Today’s AI is narrow, not general. Judged by what it actually does, its effects on democracy are specific: on self-rule, on equality, on elections, and on the contest between democracies and autocracies.

    Social Media + Society · 2023
  • Artificial Intelligence in Election Campaigns

    American voters dislike AI in campaigns and judge deception hardest. Yet parties that deceive with AI lose no favor, not even with opponents; what rises instead is support for strict regulation, up to a ban on AI development.

    Political Communication · 2026 · with Adrian Rauchfleisch and Alexander Wuttke
  • Artificial Intelligence in Deliberation

    Told that AI rather than people will run a public deliberation, respondents are less willing to take part and expect worse results. The gap follows attitudes to AI, not education: a new deliberative divide.

    Government Information Quarterly · 2025 · with Adrian Rauchfleisch
  • Public Opinion on the Politics of AI Alignment

    Which rules should AI systems follow? People in Germany and the United States want accuracy and safety above all; fairness and promoting social ideals get more cautious support, especially in Germany.

    Social Media + Society · 2025 · with Adrian Rauchfleisch

Recent publications 20

Work in progress 5

  1. The Politics of AI: Delegation, Automation, and ChangeAndreas JungherrCambridge University Press · Book under contract
  2. Beyond Killer Robots: General AI Attitudes and Public Support for Military AI in Nine CountriesAndreas Jungherr, Antonia Schlude, and Adrian RauchfleischarXiv · Preprint
  3. How Artificial Intelligence Shapes Social Change: Adoption, Power, and GovernanceAndreas JungherrSocArXiv · Preprint
  4. The Hidden Costs of AI-Mediated Political Outreach: Persuasion and AI Penalties in the US and UKAndreas Jungherr and Adrian RauchfleischarXiv · Preprint
  5. Toward Meaningful Transparency for AI Chatbots: Disclosing Persuasive Intent Reduces PersuasionAdrian Rauchfleisch and Andreas JungherrarXiv · Preprint

2026 5

  1. Wahlkampf mit KI: Nicht jede Nutzung ist problematischAndreas Jungherr, Adrian Rauchfleisch, and Alexander Wuttkepolitik & kommunikation
  2. AI and the Future of DemocracyAndreas Jungherr, Giulia Sandri, Mykola Makhortykh, Gemma Galdón-Clavell, and Armin RabitschJoint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission · Report
  3. Artificial Intelligence in Election Campaigns: Perceptions, Penalties, and ImplicationsAndreas Jungherr, Adrian Rauchfleisch, and Alexander WuttkePolitical Communication 43(4): 585–606 · Peer-reviewed article
  4. Artificial Intelligence in Government: Why People Feel They Lose ControlAlexander Wuttke, Andreas Jungherr, and Adrian RauchfleischJournal of European Public Policy · Peer-reviewed article
  5. The Politics of Artificial Intelligence Alignment: Public Reactions to AI Moderation in the Case of Google’s GeminiAdrian Rauchfleisch and Andreas JungherrNew Media & Society · Peer-reviewed article

2025 6

  1. Der Vertrauensbegriff in der interdisziplinären Forschung zur Mensch-KI-InteraktionFriederike Funk, Andreas Jungherr, Celine Spannagl, and Marvin Walczokbidt Blog
  2. Artificial Intelligence in Deliberation: The AI Penalty and the Emergence of a New Deliberative DivideAndreas Jungherr and Adrian RauchfleischGovernment Information Quarterly 42(4): 102079 · Peer-reviewed article
  3. Explaining Public Preferences for Regulating Artificial Intelligence in Election Campaigns: Evidence from the U.S. and TaiwanAdrian Rauchfleisch, Andreas Jungherr, and Alexander WuttkeTelecommunications Policy 49(10): 103072 · Peer-reviewed article
  4. Public Opinion on the Politics of AI Alignment: Cross-National Evidence on Expectations for AI Moderation from Germany and the United StatesAndreas Jungherr and Adrian RauchfleischSocial Media + Society 11(4): 1–14 · Peer-reviewed article
  5. Wahlkampf digital: Öffentlichkeit, Koordination und künstliche IntelligenzAndreas JungherrAus Politik und Zeitgeschichte (APuZ) 75(6–7): 19–24
  6. Winning and Losing with Artificial Intelligence: What Public Discourse about ChatGPT Tells Us about How Societies Make Sense of Technological ChangeAdrian Rauchfleisch, Joshua Philip Suarez, Nikka Marie Sales, and Andreas JungherrTelematics and Informatics 103: 102344 · Peer-reviewed article

2023 4

  1. Artificial Intelligence and Democracy: A Conceptual FrameworkAndreas JungherrSocial Media + Society 9(3): 1–14 · Peer-reviewed article
  2. Artificial Intelligence and the Public ArenaAndreas Jungherr and Ralph SchroederCommunication Theory 33(2–3): 164–173 · Peer-reviewed article
  3. Künstliche Intelligenz und DemokratieAndreas JungherrEinsichten und Perspektiven: Bayerische Zeitschrift für Politik und Geschichte 4, pp. 14–21
  4. Using ChatGPT and Other Large Language Model (LLM) Applications for Academic Paper AssignmentsAndreas JungherrSocArXiv · Working paper