Welcome to Politics + AI

A publication to explore how AI is changing politics, policy, and governance

Consider, for a moment, a simple math problem. What does politics plus artificial intelligence (AI) equal?

Does it equal smarter and more innovative governments or mass surveillance and crumbling democracies? Does it equal inclusion and equality or algorithmic bias and discrimination? Does it equal new forms of cooperation and prosperity or global competition and conflict?

The truth of the matter is that it is currently unclear what politics plus AI equals — which is both worrying and exciting. It is worrying because stories such as the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Google’s eerily accurate voice assistant, and Amazon’s Rekognition technology demonstrate how the misuse of AI can erode democracy, trust, and civil liberties. But it is also exciting because of the technology’s potential: improved citizen engagement and service delivery, human-AI workplace collaboration, and policy innovation across multiple files.

I believe that to have an informed, inclusive, and honest debate about the future of AI and what policies and regulations are needed to promote its many benefits, while mitigating its potential risks, the public needs an open space dedicated to discussing the numerous possibilities of what politics plus AI could equal.

This is why I have created Politics + AI: a new publication on Medium for people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to share their thoughts on how AI is changing politics, policy, and governance. My goals in starting the publication are to (1) make the political, economic, social, and ethical implications of AI clear and accessible to the public, (2) promote research-driven long-form content about the growing intersection of politics and AI, and (3) encourage as many people as possible to join the debate and share their thoughts on issues important them.

Here is what you can expect from the publication:

What We Will Write On

The realm of possible topics that we might write on grows every day as AI technologies advance and become increasingly integrated into our lives. At the moment, Politics + AI will focus on four overarching themes: politics, policy, ethics, and international relations.

• Politics: The first theme encompasses both the politics of AI and how AI is changing politics as we currently know it. What’s the difference? On the one hand, there are interesting questions about how and who will govern AI. For example, how should governments regulate the use and development of AI and what influence do corporations and research groups have over AI policy? On the other hand, there are questions such as whether AI is undermining democracy, how political parties will use AI, and how AI will change the bureaucracy and functions of governments. This is the largest theme and is related to each of the others.
• Policy: This theme focuses on AI in public policy — be it in health, education, justice, transportation, or elsewhere. Articles could cover the specific opportunities and risks of AI in one policy area or describe how the benefits and challenges of an AI solution changes from one area to another. Topics could also include the recent AI strategies governments have released or the ways in which governments can encourage the uptake of AI in the private sector.
• Ethics: The ethics of AI — and of those that create and use it — are among the most important topics in AI today. The examples mentioned earlier in this article — Cambridge Analytica, Google’s voice assistant, and Amazon’s Rekognition — are all stories about ethics: is it ethical to use AI to influence voters, should humans know in advance that they are talking to robots, and should law enforcement be allowed to use AI to track potential criminals? This vast theme includes countless topics, such as algorithmic bias and accountability, the black box problem, autonomous weapons, and the long term implications of superintelligence.
• International Relations: The final theme looks at the global politics of AI. This includes articles on how AI will change national security, foreign policy, and geopolitics, as well as the role various international institutions will play in the global governance of AI. Articles could examine whether AI will improve or infringe upon human rights, how AI will impact the global south differently than the global north, or how AI will change international trade agreements.

Who We Are Writing For

We are writing for the policymaker interested in how other governments are using AI to improve citizen engagement and service delivery, for the senior executives tasked with learning how AI policy will influence their sector, and for the everyday person curious to learn more about how AI will impact them. We want our articles to be for everyone because we believe everyone should participate in this critical global discussion.

Our articles will be long-form content (1,500 words+) that will be accessible and informative for readers. We want you to learn something from our articles and be motivated to share it and start a conversation. You will likely not agree with everything we share, but that’s okay. To have an informed, inclusive, and honest debate about the future of AI and the policies we should be implementing, we need to hear all sides.

If you disagree with something you read, comment on the article — or better yet, write for us!

How to Become A Writer For Politics + AI

We have put together a two-step, foolproof guide to become a writer for Politics + AI. You simply need to read our submission guide and complete the writer’s form — both of which are available at this link. We will then add you as a writer on Politics + AI.

To help you start writing, we have put together a reading list containing the major research reports and relevant government documents on the politics of AI. This will help you come up with a topic for your article and get you started on finding the evidence you need for your article. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at politicsplusai@gmail.com.

How Else Can You Get Involved?

The easiest way to get involved is to provide feedback, which we appreciate and encourage. You can do this by liking, commenting, or sharing an article. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, follow Politics + AI on Medium and Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

Closing Thoughts

First of all, if you’ve made it this far down the article, then please accept my sincerest thanks. Politics + AI is a passionate project of mine and I am excited to finally reveal it to the public. I appreciate the time you’ve taken to read this article and hope that I have convinced you to follow Politics + AI and read our future content.

Second, Politics + AI is committed to fostering a global community of readers and writers interested in the political, economic, social, and ethical implications of AI. I hope this community will help educate the public about the benefits and challenges of AI and develop concrete policy recommendations for governments to implement. Just maybe, by accomplishing both, we can ensure that AI has a positive impact on the lives of each and every one of us.

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Tim Dutton is an AI policy researcher based in Canada. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Politics + AI. He writes and edits articles for Politics + AI’s Medium page and provides contract work to governments and companies looking to learn about the emerging political risks and opportunities of AI. You can follow him on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.

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