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As artificial intelligence rapidly permeates daily life, a critical question emerges: to what extent should powerful digital systems direct and control our experiences? This echoes a debate from the early 2000s surrounding social media, a technology initially hailed for empowering individuals but now widely recognized for its capacity to dominate attention, impact mental health, and even threaten democracy. The choices we make now regarding AI – in 2025 and beyond – will determine whether this technology serves as a force for good or a tool for control.
The Echo of Past Promises
In his 2020 book, “Future Politics,” British barrister Jamie Susskind posited that the defining question of the 20th century was the balance between state power, the market, and civil society. He argues that the 21st century presents a different challenge: navigating the influence of powerful digital systems. AI,in theory,amplifies user capabilities,allowing for instant message dissemination,personalized content creation,and targeted persuasion. However, this very power also grants others the ability to control our lives and experiences.
“We’ve seen this play out before,” experts note, drawing parallels to the early promises of social media – instant interaction and massive-scale connection. Yet, the technology that was supposed to empower individuals ultimately ended up controlling them. Today, social media’s dominance over time and attention, coupled with its economic impact and democratic risks, serves as a stark warning. The initial novelty and potential of social media mirror the current excitement surrounding AI, demanding a cautious approach to its potential consequences.
The Looming Threat of Manufactured Reality
A growing concern is the potential for AI to flood the internet with artificial voices and manufactured realities,drowning out authentic human connection.This fear extends to social media, chat rooms, and all online spaces where individuals seek interaction. Though, AI also presents legitimate opportunities to improve both everyday life and democratic governance. Examples from around the globe demonstrate AI’s potential to enhance regulatory enforcement, detect fraud, accelerate judicial processes, and synthesize constituent input for legislatures.
Successfully harnessing AI’s positive potential requires clarity and alignment across society, given the distributed nature of power within democracies. As one analyst noted, “Our collective choices in 2025-choices made by tech CEOs, politicians, and citizens alike-may dictate whether AI is applied to positive and pro-democratic, or harmful and civically destructive, ends.”
Several key decisions facing both public and private actors will shape
States now have the opportunity to apply similar “reparative” taxes to AI companies, recapturing a portion of the costs they externalize onto the public. These funds could be used to address negative consequences like job displacement, academic dishonesty, and mental health concerns, bolstering public services such as job training, education, and healthcare.
A Choice for All of Us: What Products Do We Use, and How?
The launch of Facebook to the general public in 2006 marked a turning point, attracting millions of users with a free service monetized through attention and data extraction. Today,roughly half of Americans use AI daily,primarily through products from Meta,Google,Microsoft,OpenAI,and Anthropic – companies with a clear incentive to replicate social media’s monetization strategies.
Though, alternatives exist. Nonprofit initiatives like AllenAI and EleutherAI are developing open-source AI tools with clear foundations and user control. Governments in Singapore, Indonesia, and Switzerland are building public AI alternatives, free from the profit motive. Just as users have choices within the social media landscape – from X to Bluesky to Mastodon – a diverse AI ecosystem is emerging. Individuals can influence this ecosystem by supporting and utilizing these alternatives, such as Switzerland’s public Apertus model.
These choices are not new; they mirrored the debates surrounding social media’s emergence.Today, though, we have the opportunity to learn from past mistakes and forge a different path. It is critical that we intentionally navigate a path to a positive future for societal use of AI-before the consolidation of power renders it too late to do so.
This post was written with Nathan E. Sanders, and originally appeared in Lawfare.
