ChatGPT Could Make Democracy Even More Messy
The latest advance in AI will require a rethinking of one of the essential tasks of any democratic government: measuring public opinion.
Now it can write newspaper articles, too.
Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
ChatGPT is an internet sensation, with its ability to provide intelligent and coherent answers to a wide variety of queries. There is plenty of speculation on how it may revolutionize education, software and journalism, but less about how it will affect the machinery of government. The effects are likely to be far-ranging.
Consider the regulatory process. In the US, there is typically a comment period before many new regulations take effect. To date, it has been presumed that human beings are making the comments. Yet by mobilizing ChatGPT, it is possible for interested parties to flood the system. There is no law against using software to aid in the production of public comments, or legal documents for that matter, and if need be a human could always add some modest changes.