# Considering How AI Destroys Democratic Institutions

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-policy-press-podcast-1378134/considering-how-ai-destroys-democratic-institutions
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-policy-press-podcast-1378134/considering-how-ai-destroys-democratic-institutions.md
Podcast: [The Tech Policy Press Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-policy-press-podcast-1378134)
Published: 2026-03-22T13:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://techpolicy.press/considering-how-ai-destroys-democratic-institutions
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/ba46dc42-71a8-4d9d-a719-dddeb926e9e0.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2581

## Resource

Across the world, governments and other institutions are racing to apply artificial intelligence in countless ways. In a draft paper forthcoming in the UC Law Journal titled "How AI Destroys Institutions," Boston University law professors Woodrow Hartzog and Jessica Silbey argue that the design of AI systems—from large language models to predictive and automated decision tools—is fundamentally incompatible with the civic institutions that hold democratic society together, including the rule of law, universities, a free press, and civic life itself. This isn't necessarily because AI is being misused or falling into the wrong hands, they say—in most instances AI is working exactly as intended and, in doing so, eroding the expertise, decision-making structures, and human connection that give institutions their legitimacy.

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