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21 Yale J.L. & Tech. 106 (2019)
Artificial Intelligence: Risks to Privacy and Democracy

handle is hein.journals/yjolt21 and id is 106 raw text is: Artificial Intelligence: Risks to Privacy and Democracy Karl Manheim* and Lyric Kaplan** 21 Yale J.L. & Tech. 106 (2019) A Democracy Index is published annually by the Economist. For 2017, it reported that half ofthe world's countries scored lower than the previous year. This included the United States, which was de- moted from 'full democracy to 'flawed democracy. The princi- pal factor was erosion of confidence in government and public in- stitutions. Interference by Russia and voter manipulation by Cam- bridge Analytica in the 2016 presidential election played a large part in that public disaffection. Threats of these kinds will continue, fueled by growing deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to manipulate the preconditions and levers of democracy. Equally destructive is AI's threat to deci- sional and informational privacy. AI is the engine behind Big Data Analytics and the Internet of Things. While conferring some con- sumer benefit, their principal function at present is to capture per- sonal information, create detailed behavioral profiles and sell us goods and agendas. Privacy, anonymity and autonomy are the main casualties of AI's ability to manipulate choices in economic and po- litical decisions. The way forward requires greater attention to these risks at the na- tional level, and attendant regulation. In its absence, technology gi- ants, all of whom are heavily investing in and profiting from AI, will dominate not only the public discourse, but also the future of our core values and democratic institutions. * Professor of Law, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. This article was inspired by a lecture given in April 2018 at Kansai University, Osaka, Japan. ** Associate in Privacy & Data Security Group, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, Los Angeles. The authors are grateful to Cornelia Dean, Tanya Forsheit, Justin Hughes, Justin Levitt, Yxta Murray, Elizabeth Pollman and Neil Sahota for their incredibly helpful comments on earlier drafts.