DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.183501.1 ISSN: 2046-1402

Democracy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Systematic Literature Review

Tirta Pandu Winata, Tommy Putra Zumita, Yuni Khofifah Endar Parawangsa, Sandra Dewantari, Putri Rahmadani, Muhammad Irpansyah, Mela Sari, Aryadi Solana, Brekmans Charles Mary
Show PDF Cite
The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought significant changes to democratic practices. However, studies on the relationship between AI and democracy tend to be fragmented between discussions on information risks, regulatory governance, and the transformation of democratic systems. This research aims to map the landscape of literature on AI and democracy, identify key research clusters, and identify gaps for future research agendas based on existing studies. This research uses the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method based on the PRISMA 2020 framework. Literature was searched through the Scopus Q1 database with the inclusion criteria of English-language articles published between 2016 and 2026 and relevant to the issues of AI and democracy. The screening process yielded 21 thematically analyzed articles from the initial 862. The research results show three main clusters. First, AI increases the risk of misleading information through deepfakes, content ranking algorithms, generative search engines, and manipulation of political perceptions. Second, AI regulation and governance become important instruments for protecting democracy, although their implementation is influenced by political context, institutional capacity, and the dominance of digital platforms. Third, AI drives systemic transformation of democracy by opening up opportunities for governance efficiency, but it also poses risks of algorithmic technocracy, polarization, and reduced human agency. This research concludes that AI needs to be understood not only as a threat but also as an instrument that must be designed, regulated, and supervised to align with the principles of transparency, accountability, participation, and the protection of democracy.

More from our Archive