“Governance institutions are far too slow in adapting law and policy to technological change, improving their own capacity for implementation of policy, and improving citizen-facing government digital services, which adds to disillusionment and loss of institutional trust.”

“One fringe issue is the fight over digital sovereignty and algorithmic governance. As artificial intelligence and big data increasingly shape public discourse, elections, and even policy enforcement, questions about who controls these systems and how they reinforce or undermine democracy will become central. Right now, we are personally seeing rural communities, many skeptical of government and media, concerned about censorship and media manipulation. These anxieties transcend traditional left-right divisions, creating an emerging coalition of libertarians, privacy advocates, and civil rights organizations who see algorithmic control as a fundamental threat to personal freedom.”

“On the AI front, the pace seems significantly accelerated, with what had looked thirty years away now looking like it will arrive within a decade. Democracy itself has already begun to come under pressure, mostly because the AI gold rush has accelerated an already intense concentration of money, power, and the ability to shape discourse in the hands of the few. Elites seem prepared to transform political structures away from democratic norms.”

“One of the largest aspects of political realignment that is often overlooked is what role AI will play in decision-making, policy creation, and governance…which factions will be the earliest to embrace these technologies, how they will be utilized, and if they will help to reinforce or dismantle political participation…who will own or have the highest level of control over these systems. If AI governance gains traction, it could challenge the very concept of representative democracy, replacing elected officials with algorithmic decision-making.”

“There has been a shift in the tech sector from a very high level of progressive and pro-democracy politics…to significant support among some people in the community for a mix of right-wing ideas, including hard libertarianism, neo-reaction/dark enlightenment, MAGA, and a declining interest in democracy. Signs of this include the popularity of Balaji Srinivasan's “The Network State,” which advocates abandoning democratic nation-states for interest-based digital states…the alignment of tech titans in 2024 and 2025 with Donald Trump. This seems to be a response to efforts at regulating Big Tech during the Biden Administration, increasing criticism of the tech sector from the Left, and a belief within the tech world that unhindered development of AI…[is]…the solution both to social problems and to the US maintaining dominance over China.”

AI adoption varies across the US, with existing tech hubs leading adoption rates, and this trend could continue to exacerbate economic inequality.

Major technological platforms control key economic and digital infrastructure; for example, the top 5 tech platforms account for over 25% of the S&P 500's total market value.

“Recalling the open source movements in the early history of the Internet, there actually is a future where advanced tech can end up being decentralized in ways that grant people more autonomy to self-organize, and therefore less reliant upon conceding their freedoms and rights to singular authorities who will accumulate that power under the guise of protecting people from others who have concentrated power.”