Human-AI Political Symbiosis: Rethinking Democracy in the Age of Digital Technologies

This paper explores how AI-powered digital technologies impact democratic processes by shaping citizens’ epistemic and moral capacities, with a particular focus on the threats posed by misinformation, deepfakes, and overreliance on AI tools. Traditional approaches like education and regulation have been insufficient in addressing these challenges. The paper proposes a paradigm shift, advocating for human-AI political symbiosis as a way to mitigate the harms of digital technologies and improve the epistemic and moral qualities of democratic decision-making. This symbiosis entails a cooperative relationship between humans and AI, where both partners augment each other’s capacities to navigate a distorted epistemic environment. The concept is introduced through two forms: “weak” symbiosis, where AI is a useful tool for achieving specific democratic goals, and “strong” symbiosis, where humans and AI are mutually dependent for democratic survival and flourishing. The paper concludes by examining how this new framework can better address the complex, evolving challenges posed by AI in democratic settings, emphasizing that deeper cooperation between AI and human agents is key to preserving democracy.