Stanford-Led Task Force Releases Early Draft on AI's Political Impact
A new volume examining artificial intelligence's effects on politics, elections, and democracy is now available in draft form, months before its official publication. Artificial Intelligence, Politics, and Political Science, co-edited by Stanford Law School professor Nathaniel Persily, draws on work from more than 50 political scientists and scholars across multiple disciplines.
Cambridge University Press will publish the final version later this year. The editors released the draft early because the field is moving too fast to wait.
"The topic of AI and politics is evolving so rapidly that we felt the need to release pre-prints of the chapters well before publication," Persily said. The volume aims to generate discussion among policymakers, scholars, journalists, and the public on how AI will affect democratic institutions.
Scope Beyond Social Media
This project builds on earlier work by Persily and co-editor Joshua A. Tucker at New York University. In 2020, they published Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field and Prospects for Reform, also through Cambridge Press. The new volume goes further.
While it considers how social media and AI intersect, the book examines AI's impact across politics broadly: national security, the labor market, public opinion, elections, race and gender, and public-sector governance. It also addresses how political scientists themselves will use AI as a research tool.
Tucker said their experience studying social media prepared them for this analysis. "However, the impact of AI - both on society and on the profession of political science - has the potential to be much more dramatic," he said.
What Lawyers Need to Know
For legal professionals, the volume addresses AI's implications for democratic institutions and governance. Chapters cover political theory, research methods, and teaching - areas where AI will reshape how scholars and practitioners work.
Persily, the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford, specializes in election law and the regulation of technology. His scholarship has focused on voting rights, redistricting, campaign finance, and how technology affects democracy. This volume reflects a broader effort at Stanford Law School to examine AI's effects on courts, administrative agencies, legal practice, and civil rights.
Other Stanford contributors include Linda Eggert (philosophy), Rob Reich (social ethics of science and technology), and Jennifer Pan (Chinese studies and communication). Their chapters address AI and political theory, and AI's role in generating and spreading political content online.
A Call for Interdisciplinary Input
The editors express both concern and optimism about AI's political future. They argue that while computer scientists have led AI development, political considerations deserve equal weight as the technology advances.
The volume also offers guidance for political science professors on curriculum and methodology questions they need to address now. As AI becomes embedded in political analysis and campaigns, the discipline itself must adapt.
For those working in law and policy, understanding these implications early matters. The draft is available now through the American Political Science Association, the task force that produced it.
Learn more about AI for Legal professionals, or explore the AI Learning Path for Policy Makers to deepen your knowledge of how this technology affects governance and institutions.
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