Understanding the Politics of Artificial Intelligence

This interdisciplinary book provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and politics. Pascal D. Koenig analyzes what politicizes AI, describes the distinct facets of this relationship, and how they interconnect.

Incorporating a wide range of perspectives on AI and politics, Koenig explores technology design, how AI can engineer social relations, as well as its appearance in societal narratives, public opinion, and geopolitics. He reveals its manifold impacts on society, such as through automation and decision support tools in the public and private sector or the growing use of virtual assistants, and how these effects vary in visibility. The book also discusses the extent to which AI has become politicized, encompassing how it has been targeted by governance, data concerns, and the influence of private actors. Ultimately, Koenig concludes that the kinds of politics of AI with the greatest impact on society are often subtle and far removed from day-to-day politics.

Understanding the Politics of Artificial Intelligence is a crucial resource for scholars and students of innovation policy, disruptive technologies and AI, international politics, and regulation and governance. It is also a beneficial read for practitioners and policymakers working on technology policy and governance who are interested in the intersection of AI and politics.

Pascal D. Koenig, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands