Generative AI and Democracy

Democratic systems are constantly changing, not least due to technology. Information and communication technology, and most recently, artificial intelligence (AI), increasingly play a significant role. Since the publication of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, various generative AI applications have been spreading rapidly. This opens up new opportunities for democracy, such as the efficient, target group-specific provision of information that plays a role in the political debate. However, it also encourages negative tendencies, particularly the creation and dissemination of deliberately falsified content, so-called fake news or even deep fakes, i.e. fake but deceptively genuine videos.

In this study for the Austrian Parliament, the question of what influence ChatGPT and Co. can have on political debates is investigated. In addition to the democratic-political opportunities, potential problems are also analysed. These include the potential role of deep fakes in political communication. The underlying question is whether and in what way it might be necessary to take measures to influence political discourse on the internet in a democracy-friendly way. The proposed options for recognising and combating fake news and deep fakes are therefore also put to the test.