How Artificial Intelligence Empowers and Imperils Dictators
Dictators are using artificial intelligence to watch citizens, censor information, and replace human bureaucrats. However, this creates a new reliance on a small group of specialized engineers who maintain the technology.
In short: Dictators are using artificial intelligence to watch citizens, censor information, and replace human bureaucrats. However, this creates a new reliance on a small group of specialized engineers who maintain the technology.
When a Russian news anchor presented a broadcast in October 2024, viewers looked at a face that did not actually exist, generated entirely by computer software.
What happened, in plain words
Authors Bruce Schneier and Seva Gunitsky examined how autocratic leaders use artificial intelligence to maintain control. Governments in countries like China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates are employing artificial intelligence to automate government work, filter content, track officials, and identify protesters. While this technology helps leaders watch subordinates and reduce staff, the authors note it does not create a truly self-running state.
Key points
- Solving the loyalty dilemma: Autocrats traditionally struggled to empower subordinates without risking betrayal, often choosing mediocre officials to ensure loyalty. Artificial intelligence offers a way to monitor followers in real time and automate tasks without relying on human discretion.
- Surveillance in action: China and Russia use facial recognition cameras, automated data collection, and artificial intelligence content scanners like Oculus to monitor citizens, suppress dissent, and track regional officials.
- Replacing government workers: Governments are exploring systems to draft laws, issue permits, and replace officials. For instance, the United Arab Emirates announced that autonomous artificial intelligence agents would take over half of federal operations within two years.
- A new technological elite: Artificial intelligence systems require skilled engineers and data scientists to build and maintain them. Because political leaders do not understand this complex technology, they grow deeply dependent on a small group of technical workers.
Terms explained
- Artificial intelligence — Computer systems designed to perform tasks that typically require human thinking, such as recognizing faces or processing language. Example: Software that automatically sorts through thousands of online images to find specific prohibited topics.
- Autocracy — A system of government where absolute power is held by a single ruler or a small group. Example: A nation where one leader makes all the laws without needing approval from an elected parliament.
- Algorithm — A set of step-by-step instructions or rules that a computer follows to solve a problem or complete a task. Example: A digital checklist a program uses to decide which spending habits look suspicious.
Why it matters
Understanding how technology influences political control helps explain global trends in surveillance, digital censorship, and cybersecurity.
What we still don't know
The essay discusses early trends and tools currently deployed by specific governments, but the long-term stability and practical success of these automated governance systems remain uncertain.
Based on reporting from Bruce Schneier. This is an independent explainer, written in our own words with AI assistance; Bruce Schneier has not reviewed or endorsed it. Read the original for the full details.