President Emmanuel Macron recently issued a warning about the risks of artificial intelligence on the democratic process, stating that in the next elections, many citizens could directly ask an AI agent who to vote for.
The statements were made in Arras, at an event organized by La Voix du Nord, as reported by La Libre.
Asked about the danger posed by social networks to democracy, Macron stated:
“At the upcoming local elections, at the next presidential elections, I will tell you what will happen. More and more of our compatriots will go to their AI agent and ask: Who should I vote for? That's when we will enter, I tell you, into another world.”
He continued: “I don't know what AI will recommend to citizens, but what I do know is that the people behind ChatGPT, at least the interests behind it, I'm not sure they are completely neutral or fully aligned with France's interests.”
Macron also warned about how people are starting to interact with these systems:
“More and more of our compatriots are building an intimate relationship with their AI. Moreover, there are AI systems that are very well made, in the generative models we have, because they are anthropomorphic, meaning they mimic a bit the dialogue of a friend. They address you with ‘you,’ they get to know your habits after four, five questions.”
The French President emphasized that this rapid technological advancement could directly influence electoral behavior and put pressure on traditional democratic mechanisms.
