How Technology Empowers—and Imperils—Dictators
This essay was written with Seva Gunitsky, and originally appeared in Foreign Affairs . Two weeks after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, the Russian TV Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova burst onto the set of the evening newscast. She held up a hand-drawn sign behind the anchor’s head that read: “Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They’re lying to you!” She shouted,…
The essay explores how artificial intelligence (AI) could both empower and threaten autocratic rulers. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian TV Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova protested the war on television. However, tighter security and fear made future protests less common. In 2024, RT network's chief propagandist, Margarita Simonyan, revealed that some RT anchors were AI-generated, explaining that they avoided salaries, insurance, arrests, and police searches.
This illustrates AI's potential to maintain control without relying on unreliable human subordinates. However, the same AI systems used for monitoring and control could become a threat if centralized in the hands of a few AI specialists, forming a new Praetorian Guard that may have the same weaknesses as past human intermediaries.
China leads in AI development for autocratic control, using AI in smart city programs to track and centralize oversight of local officials. They have also developed a "Zero Trust AI system" to detect corruption and manipulate public opinion through AI-generated bots. Russia has deployed facial recognition for protest control and is automating government operations with AI.
The UAE has launched initiatives for AI to draft and assess government officials' performance. Despite AI's promises, it remains dependent on human expertise for building and maintaining the systems, making it a potential risk for autocratic leaders.
Written by urgent.news from Schneier on Security's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
