How AI Destroys Institutions

Civic institutions—the rule of law, universities, and a free press—are the backbone of democratic life. They are the mechanisms through which complex societies encourage cooperation and stability, while also adapting to changing circumstances. The real superpower of institutions is their ability to evolve and adapt within a hierarchy of authority and a framework for roles and rules while maintaining legitimacy in the knowledge produced and the actions taken. Purpose-driven institutions built around transparency, cooperation, and accountability empower individuals to take intellectual risks and challenge the status quo. This happens through the machinations of interpersonal relationships within those institutions, which broaden perspectives and strengthen shared commitment to civic goals.

Unfortunately, the affordances of AI systems extinguish these institutional features at every turn. In this essay, we make one simple point: AI systems are built to function in ways that degrade and are likely to destroy our crucial civic institutions. The affordances of AI systems have the effect of eroding expertise, short-circuiting decision-making, and isolating people from each other. These systems are anathema to the kind of evolution, transparency, cooperation, and accountability that give vital institutions their purpose and sustainability. In short, current AI systems are a death sentence for civic institutions, and we should treat them as such.

Professor Woodrow Hartzog is the Andrew R Randall Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law. He is also a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, a Non-resident Fellow at The Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law at Washington University, and an Affiliate Scholar at the Centre for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School. He is the author of published in 2018 by Harvard University Press, and the co-author of published in 2022 by Oxford University Press.

The DEMCONEX Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence for Freedom of Expression and Democratic Resilience in Europe’s Digital Age is hosted by the School of Law and the Department of Politics at Trinity College Dublin from 2025 through 2028 with support from the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme.

The Centre is led by Principal Investigator and Director Dr Róisín Á Costello.

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