Machines & Influence: An Information Systems Lens

Abstract

Policymakers face a broader challenge of how to view AI capabilities today and where does society stand in terms of those capabilities. This paper surveys AI capabilities and tackles this very issue, exploring it in context of political security in digitally networked societies. We extend the ideas of Information Management to better understand contemporary AI systems as part of a larger and more complex information system. Comprehensively reviewing AI capabilities and contemporary man-machine interactions, we undertake conceptual development to suggest that better information management could allow states to more optimally offset the risks of AI enabled influence and better utilise the emerging capabilities which these systems have to offer to policymakers and political institutions across the world. Hopefully this long essay will actuate further debates and discussions over these ideas, and prove to be a useful contribution towards governing the future of AI.