Countries are eager to use AI to automate some government processes, but this risks eroding citizens’ trust and feelings of democratic control – because AI mistakes can ruin their lives
By Jeremy Hsu
11 July 2025
AI could automate some government paperwork, but it comes with serious risks
Brett Hondow / Alamy
Many countries are exploring how artificial intelligence might help with everything from processing taxes to determining welfare benefits. But a survey shows citizens are not as enthusiastic as their governments – and this can create real risks for democracy.
“Focusing only on short-term efficiency gains and shiny technology risks triggering public backlash and contributing to a long-term decline in democratic trust and legitimacy,” says Alexander Wuttke at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany.
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Wuttke and his colleagues asked around 1200 people in the UK to share their feelings about government actions where either a human or an AI handled the task. These hypothetical scenarios included processing tax returns, approving or rejecting welfare applications and making risk assessments about whether defendants should be eligible for bail.
Some people were only told about how AI could improve government efficiency – but others learned about both AI-related benefits and risks. These risks included difficulty in understanding how AI decisions are made, growing government dependence on AI that becomes less reversible over time and a lack of clear paths for citizens to contest and correct AI decisions.
When people became aware of AI-related risks, they reported both a significant decline in their trust in government and a feeling of losing control. For example, the percentage of participants reporting loss of democratic control in their government increased from 45 per cent to more than 81 per cent in scenarios where the government became increasingly dependent on AI for handling specific tasks.