AI in Non-Free and Autocratizing Contexts: Trends, Theoretical Frameworks, and the Minimum Digital Security Package
Drawing on a systematic synthesis of academic literature and reports from leading research institutions, this article conceptualizes contemporary trends in AI deployment within non-democratic regimes. I argue that while AI empowers autocrats and helps establish a baseline toolkit to deter regime transition, digital capabilities alone remain insufficient without traditional hard power. Nevertheless, global technological diffusion and cross-border collaboration within the “authoritarian international” facilitate a minimum digital security package. This mechanism enables less technologically advanced non-democracies to mitigate risks through AI-driven surveillance, censorship, and information manipulation.
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