{
  "id": 18219186,
  "title": "If AI thinks for us, democracy will suffer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/if-ai-thinks-for-us-democracy-will-suffer-18219186",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-05T01:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/20261105/if-ai-thinks-for-us-democracy-will-suffer"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the 18th century, the Enlightenment era provided a resolution to an enduring question: where does knowledge originate? Prior to this period, many believed that divine intelligence was the source of wisdom. However, during the early modern era, a new belief emerged: human scientists, equipped with observation, mathematics, experimentation, and logic, were the ones who generated new knowledge. This belief marked not only an intellectual revolution but also a social one. Historian Steven Shapin highlights that this scientific mindset transformed our collective values, placing a premium on research and rigor. Consequently, our society came to hold itself and its most esteemed institutions to the standard of scientific inquiry. Democracy, which rests on the principle of popular sovereignty, is the political system that best embodies this shift. The idea is that each individual is capable of evaluating political candidates or policy proposals and making informed decisions. Now, we are on the verge of another transformative revolution. In September, OpenAI's artificial intelligence model managed to solve a complex mathematical problem that had baffled scientists for decades within just one week. Artificial intelligence appears poised to challenge and potentially disrupt the democratic process.",
  "summary": "CHICAGO — Sometime in the 18th century, the Enlightenment settled a contentious, centuries-old question: Where does knowledge come from? For millennia, many people had pointed to God. But the early modern period brought a new consensus, namely that knowledge comes from human scientists working at the edge of what is known, armed with observation, mathematics, experimentation, and logic. As the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}