Chatbot Democracy

Abstract What will be the role of chatbots in 21st century democratic processes? Considering the potential implementations of artificial intelligence (AI) “chatbots” or large language models (LLMs) with a natural language processing (NLP) interface for use in public administration, policy-making, and deliberative democratic processes, this essay explores representative and access-boosting roles for such chatbots: how they could supplement constituent services, increase access to government programs, facilitate deliberation, and perhaps even act as posthuman representatives within a deliberative democratic process. The essay reviews the burgeoning, multi-disciplinary academic literature dealing with the use of chatbots in both government and deliberative contexts—literature that probes questions of utility, representational ethics, equity and access. The essay concludes with an itinerary for further thinking and research, emphasizing the importance of both impact and formative evaluation.