A central feature of human societies is the continued reliance on individual leaders as decision-makers, particularly at the national level. In the vast majority of cases throughout human history, in major societies these leaders have been male. Even in the age of the electronics revolution, when decision-making could potentially be through mass participation, the United States has moved closer to an imperial presidency and the leaders in China and India, the most populous countries in the world, are male and have become more dictatorial. The evolution of centralized individual male leadership is discussed in this chapter as arising from the development of a surplus and the emergence of private property. These developments led to wealth concentration and group-based inequalities, with the leader being a member of the power and wealth elite. Some animal groups practice collective decision-making, but for the most part decision-making in human societies continues to rely on individual (often older) male leaders.

In this chapter, the philosopher Mathias Risse reflects on the medium and long-term prospects and challenges democracy faces from AI. Comparing the political nature of AI systems with traffic infrastructure, the author points out AI’s potential to greatly strengthen democracy, but only with the right efforts. The chapter starts with a critical examination of the relation between democracy and technology with a historical perspective before outlining the techno skepticism prevalent in several grand narratives of AI. Finally, the author explores the possibilities and challenges that AI may lead to in the present digital age. He argues that technology critically bears on what forms of human life get realised or imagined, as it changes the materiality of democracy (by altering how collective decision making unfolds) and what its human participants are like. In conclusion, Mathias Risse argues that both technologists and citizens need to engage with ethics and political thoughts generally to have the spirit and dedication to build and maintain a democracy-enhancing AI infrastructure.