D_11 Representing Public Opinion: Challenges Posed by Artificial Intelligence

This work package examines how the growing use of artificial intelligence on social media is changing the political impact of the public sphere. It focuses on the influence of AI on the relationship between individual autonomy and the formation of public opinion, as well as the actors, political ideas and counter-movements that are becoming increasingly relevant in this context.
 

Public opinion is increasingly formed on social media. This has fueled concerns that the potential for fostering social cohesion is being lost, since digital platforms tend to personalize information and polarise communication. Furthermore, there are background technologies that can pit positions against one another and distort the spectrum of opinion in barely perceptible ways. As AI becomes more prevalent, this problem of invisible filtering and generating of information appears to be intensifying.As with the rise of social media, pessimistic views are countered by more optimistic ones. It is hoped that, when used 'properly', AI can have a cohesive effect on political communication for instance by 'objectively' resolving disputes or helping government agencies work more efficiently. Consequently, the social and political implications of widespread AI adoption remain ambiguous.From a cultural-historical perspective, however, the digital transformation represents a temporary endpoint in a longer historical continuum. It takes us from the small data universe of earlier times to a world in which the collection, archiving and retrieval of ever-larger amounts of data has become possible. This poses fundamental difficulties for the formation of public opinion and challenges human self-determination.

Key questions of the work package

This work package examines the ambiguity of AI in relation to its cultural and historical development. Specifically, we explore how the popularisation of AI undermines the connection between individual autonomy and public opinion, identifying counter-dynamics that could influence future developments. Which actors are central to the representation of public opinion? Which are losing significance? Which are gaining influence? What political ideas and agendas are becoming dominant in this process?