Artificial intelligence today is no longer just a tool or technology confined to laboratories or tech companies, but has penetrated deep into the political process to become a hidden player, especially in shaping public opinion and decision-making. What is known today as "political artificial intelligence" represents one of the most dangerous and profound shifts in the relationship between technology and power or political orientation, as data and influence, algorithms and democracy, intersect, opening the door to fundamental questions: Will AI foster a more transparent and efficient political future, or will it create a new kind of digital dictatorship?
Political AI refers to the use of AI techniques, such as big data analysis, machine learning, and natural language processing, in the fields of politics and governance, ranging from understanding public opinion trends, to predicting election results, to formulating public policies based on data rather than political intuition.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in public opinion analysis is one of the most significant developments in this rapidly growing field. With the ability to process millions of social media interactions, it can gauge the public mood faster and more accurately than traditional polls, which suffer from complexity and delays in understanding social behavior.
AI tools in the field of political forecasting provide accurate data on the likelihood of success or failure of policies, which enhances the rationality of the political decision, and this is one of the most prominent positive challenges to understanding the behavior of the decision maker based on a huge amount of data trained by AI to reach the most rational and appropriate decision, whether in the Iraqi political situation or otherwise.
Campaigns use AI tools to target tailored political ads to each individual based on their interests and digital behaviors across the most commonly used platforms. On the other hand, these tools can help detect fake news and misleading propaganda, as AI quickly detects fake content, helping to protect voters from misinformation.
On the other hand, AI techniques can be exploited to produce fake content that is difficult to detect, such as deepfake techniques, and this is what the Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq warned against, confirming on Tuesday, 8/26/2025, that the use of AI by candidates in a negative way to influence others is an offense that amounts to an electoral crime, and explained that investigating such crimes requires the use of technical experts to indicate whether the content is real or made using artificial intelligence.
Manipulating public opinion through algorithms can turn democracy into "wish management" instead of free expression, which goes against all electoral principles and values that any candidate or political entity must adhere to.
Hence, a number of legislative steps can be proposed to preserve the high value of elections and political work, most notably:
- Enact a personal data protection law that prevents the use of voters' data without their consent.
- Requiring political parties to disclose any use of AI in election campaigns.
- Establish oversight bodies or specialized sections within the commission to monitor the digital integrity of elections.
In the end, political AI remains a double-edged sword: It can either be a tool to promote democracy or a means to entrench digital dictatorship, and the difference between the two lies in the existence of clear legislation and strict ethical and regulatory frameworks governing its use.
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