Artificial Intelligence, platform capitalism, and the risks to democracy

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between artificial intelligence, platform capitalism, and democracy, showing how algorithmic systems, far from being neutral, embody economic and political interests. After outlining the developments of AI and the role of Big Tech, it highlights how digital capitalism generates inequality and pervasive processes of datafication. The theoretical framework draws on Habermas as well as critical perspectives from digital sociology and algorithmic governmentality. Finally, the paper stresses the risks for democratic deliberation, increasingly threatened by predictive and nudging systems.