There is an interesting parallel between the Achilles Heels of Artificial Intelligence and Democracy. Both can suffer from “bad data.” Since Large Language Models depend on recursively feeding “refined” data back into their models, there is a risk of feeding inaccurate or flawed data into subsequent iterations, thereby losing valuable information. There is a similar phenomenon in modern democracies. Misinformation and disinformation pollute any democracy. If democracies lose or forget important historical facts, they are likely to repeat past mistakes. Likewise, if malign domestic and foreign entities inject disinformation into our stream of “freedom-loving” speech, our democracy is harmed. This video briefly examines the parallel realities of AI and American democracy.
Please note that the term ‘recursion’ is used frequently in this video. The term is both deceptively simple and, by definition, very complex. The textbook definition (if we had textbooks) of recursion in AI is that it involves systems applying their own rules or outputs back into themselves, enabling autonomous self-improvement, complex problem-solving, and enhanced, iterative learning. It creates a self-referential feedback loop—like in Recursive Neural Networks (RvNNs)—to break down data, refine predictions, and improve efficiency over time.
This will be too complicated, if not boring, for most people. However, recursion is the primary engine of AI. It learns by a process of elimination and probabilities. It takes 100,000 possible solutions to a question and narrows it down to 1,000. If all goes well, the AI’s elimination of the 99,000 castoffs was a good thing. However, if some of the 99,000 castoffs were viable solutions, or if the original 100,000 fed into the AI did not contain some “good” solutions, then the AI may not give the best solution.
The same is similar in a Democracy. If a rigid two-party system eliminates viable alternative policies and politicians, or prevents them from participating, then democracy will not produce the best solutions. Likewise, if misinformation and disinformation flood our media zones, then Democracy fails.
This is the direct link to this video: https://youtu.be/UAGeR_uofDU