Governance and artificial intelligence: the use of artificial intelligence in democracy and its impacts on the rights to participation

This article highlights the influence of the implementation of Artificial intelligence (AI) based- systems in democratic governance and their potential threats to the rights to participation. The use of those AI tools has become widespread over the last decades and tend to be widely utilized by governments to make decisions. There is then a concern that the use of AI may threaten the trinitarian view of global governance: the rule of law, democracy, and human rights. This paper describes the mitigated impacts of AI by positing the advantages and the risks that may hamper the rights to political participation. It argues that a responsible use of AI that does not hamper technological advancement is needed, to protect the rights to participation. By examining the connection between governance, human rights, and AI, the paper suggests a particular attention to the Low- and Medium-Income Countries (LMICs) where the use of AI and related tools jeopardize democracy. It urges for the strengthening of laws and regulations to ensure responsible use of AI that does not impede technological advancement.