{"id":81104,"date":"2026-04-20T12:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/how-can-herds-affect-democracy\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:39:04","slug":"how-can-herds-affect-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/how-can-herds-affect-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"How can herds affect democracy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"norender-embeds medium-insert-images fImageContainer\">\n<figure contenteditable=\"false\"><figcaption contenteditable=\"true\" class=\"\">AI&#8217;s silent coup: how swarms can influence democracy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The perceived risks of AI are no longer limited to institutional structures or cognitive displacement. Increasingly, autonomous systems are emerging as a powerful source of instability at the political border.<\/p>\n<p>According to researchers, highly realistic AI-powered personalities may soon be useful in shaping public opinion and undermining democratic systems. <\/p>\n<p>In a new research paper published in <i>Science,<\/i> Researchers highlighted the growing threats posed by AI personalities that mirror human behavior. For example, these digital individuals maintain a constant presence in digital communities, participate in political discussions, and shape public opinion. <\/p>\n<p>Unlike AI chatbots, these AI agents create echo chambers across thousands of accounts through well-structured coordination, quick responsive behavior, and different narratives. <\/p>\n<p>Apparently, these agents look authentic and interact in ways that seem natural to other users. Not only maintaining a persuasive presence through chat, these AI agents are also able to refine communication strategies in real-time to generate political consensus. <\/p>\n<p>According to UBC computer scientist Dr. Kevin Layton-Brown, AI-generated deepfakes and fake news are responsible for influencing election-based narratives and outcomes, including in the United States, Taiwan, Indonesia and India.<\/p>\n<p>According to experts&#8217; analysis, these AI agents have the potential to disrupt the balance of power in democratic societies. <\/p>\n<p>Dr. Leighton-Brown cautioned that, &#8220;We should not imagine that society will remain unchanged as these systems emerge. The likely consequence is reduced trust of anonymous voices on social media, which could empower celebrities and make it harder to get messages across to the grassroots.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n      \/*var images = document.getElementsByTagName('img');\n      for(var i = 0; i < images.length; i++) {\n          images(i).title = images(i).alt;\n      }*\/\n    let firebaseLoaded = false;\n    function loadFirebaseOnce() {\n      if (firebaseLoaded) return;\n        firebaseLoaded = true;\n        import(\"https:\/\/www.gstatic.com\/firebasejs\/7.1.0\/firebase-app.js\").then(() => {\n        import(\"https:\/\/www.gstatic.com\/firebasejs\/7.1.0\/firebase-analytics.js\");\n        import(\"https:\/\/www.gstatic.com\/firebasejs\/7.1.0\/firebase-messaging.js\").then(() => {\n          import(\"https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/push_notification.js?v=112\");\n        });\n      });\n    }\n    window.addEventListener(\"scroll\", loadFirebaseOnce, { once: true });\n    window.addEventListener(\"mousemove\", loadFirebaseOnce, { once: true });\n    window.addEventListener(\"click\", loadFirebaseOnce, { once: true });\n    var loadDeferredJS = function() {\n      var lazyloadjs = ('https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/lazysizes.min.js','https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/jquery.min.js');\n      var firebaseappjs = ('https:\/\/www.gstatic.com\/firebasejs\/7.1.0\/firebase-app.js');\n      var firebasejs = ('https:\/\/www.gstatic.com\/firebasejs\/7.1.0\/firebase-analytics.js','https:\/\/www.gstatic.com\/firebasejs\/7.1.0\/firebase-messaging.js');\n      var firebasejs_tokenjs = ('https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/push_notification.js?v=112');\n      var sliderjs = ('https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/swiper-bundle.min.js');\n      var alljscustom = ('https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/tn.js?t=7422','https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/mycustom.js?t=142','https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/gbnews\/js\/custom.js');\n      setTimeout(function(){\n          lazyloadjs.forEach(function (item,index) { \n              var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n              scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n              scriptElement.src = item;\n              document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n          });\n      }, 1000);\n              \/*setTimeout(function(){\n            firebaseappjs.forEach(function (item,index) { \n                var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n                scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n                scriptElement.src = item;\n                document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n            });\n        }, 3500);\n        setTimeout(function(){\n            firebasejs.forEach(function (item,index) { \n                var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n                scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n                scriptElement.src = item;\n                document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n            });\n        }, 4000);\n        setTimeout(function(){\n            firebasejs_tokenjs.forEach(function (item,index) { \n                    navigator.serviceWorker.getRegistrations().then(function(registrations) {\n                      for(let registration of registrations) {\n                          if(registration.scope != 'https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/firebase-cloud-messaging-push-scope'){\n                              registration.unregister()\n                          }\n                          else{\n                              registration.update()\n                          }\n                      } \n                    });\n                    var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n                    scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n                    scriptElement.src = item;\n                    document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n                            });\n        }, 6000);*\/\n      \/*var screenWidth = screen.width;\n      var ads_timeduration = 2800;\n      if(screenWidth < 800){\n        ads_timeduration = 3000;\n      }\n      setTimeout(function(){\n          addjs.forEach(function (item,index) { \n              var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n              scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n              scriptElement.src = item;\n              document.head.appendChild(scriptElement);\n          });\n      }, ads_timeduration);*\/\n\n      \/\/const jqueryIntervalcheck = setInterval(function () {\n       \/\/ if(typeof jQuery !== \"undefined\"){\n        \/\/  clearInterval(jqueryIntervalcheck);\n          setTimeout(function(){\n              sliderjs.forEach(function (item,index) {\n                  if(item == 'https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/swiper-bundle.min.js'){\n                    var story_embed_gallery = $('.story-detail').find('.embedgallery').length;\n                    \/\/var story_embed_gallery = 0;\n                    if(parseInt(story_embed_gallery) > 0){\n                      var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n                      scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n                      scriptElement.src = item;\n                      document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n                      var styleElement=document.createElement('link');\n                      styleElement.type=\"text\/css\";\n                      styleElement.rel=\"stylesheet\";\n                      styleElement.href=\"https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/css\/swiper-bundle.min.css\";\n                      document.head.appendChild(styleElement);\n                    }\n                  }\n              });\n          }, 2000);\n          setTimeout(function(){\n              alljscustom.forEach(function (item,index) {\n                  if(item == 'https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/push_notification.js?v=112'){\n                                                var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n                          scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n                          scriptElement.src = item;\n                          document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n                                        }\n                  else if(item == 'https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/js\/swiper-bundle.min.js'){\n                    var story_embed_gallery = $('.story-detail').find('.embedgallery').length;\n                    \/\/var story_embed_gallery = 0;\n                    if(parseInt(story_embed_gallery) > 0){\n                      var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n                      scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n                      scriptElement.src = item;\n                      document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n                      var styleElement=document.createElement('link');\n                      styleElement.type=\"text\/css\";\n                      styleElement.rel=\"stylesheet\";\n                      styleElement.href=\"https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/assets\/front\/html_assets\/css\/swiper-bundle.min.css\";\n                      document.head.appendChild(styleElement);\n                    }\n                  }\n                  else{\n                    var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n                    scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n                    scriptElement.src = item;\n                    document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n                  }\n              });\n          }, 3000);\n      \/\/  }\n    \/\/  },100);\n    };\n    var raf = window.requestAnimationFrame || window.mozRequestAnimationFrame ||\n    window.webkitRequestAnimationFrame || window.msRequestAnimationFrame;\n    \/*var loadDeferredJSCaptcha = function() {\n        var addJSNode = document.getElementById(\"captchejs\");\n        var replacement = document.createElement(\"div\");\n        replacement.innerHTML = addJSNode.textContent;\n        document.body.appendChild(replacement);\n        addJSNode.parentElement.removeChild(addJSNode);\n    };*\/\n    if (raf) raf(function() { \n        window.setTimeout(loadDeferredJS, 300); \n        \/\/window.setTimeout(loadDeferredJSCaptcha, 300);\n    });\n    else {\n        window.addEventListener('load', loadDeferredJS);\n        \/\/window.addEventListener('load', loadDeferredJSCaptcha);\n    }\n    setTimeout(function(){\n        if($('.infogram-embed').length > 0 || $('embedinfogram').length > 0)\n{\n    !function (e, t, n, s) {\n        var i = \"InfogramEmbeds\", o = e.getElementsByTagName\n        if (\/^\/{2}\/.test(s) && (s = d + s), window(i) && window(i).initialized)window(i).process && window(i).process(); else if (!e.getElementById(n)) {\n            var a = e.createElement\n            a.async = 1, a.id = n, a.src = s, o.parentNode.insertBefore(a, o)\n        }\n    }(document, \"script\", \"infogram-async\", \"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/js\/dist\/embed-loader-min.js\");\n}\nif($('.apester-media').length > 0)\n{\n    var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n    scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n    scriptElement.setAttribute=\"async\";\n    scriptElement.src=\"https:\/\/static.apester.com\/js\/sdk\/latest\/apester-sdk.js\";\n    document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n}\nif($('.twitter-tweet').length > 0)\n{\n    var tweetObj = document.getElementsByClassName('tweetPost');\n    var counter_tweet = 0;\n    if (tweetObj.length == 0) {\n        tweetObj = document.getElementsByClassName('twitter-tweet');\n        $.each(tweetObj, function (i, v) {\n            $(this).attr('id', 'twitter-post-widget-' + i);\n        });\n    } else {\n        $.each(tweetObj, function (i, v) {\n            if($(this).find('.twitter-tweet').length > 0){\n                $(this).find('.twitter-tweet').attr('id', 'twitter-post-widget-' + counter_tweet);\n                counter_tweet++;\n            }\n        });\n    }\n    $.getScript('https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js', function () {\n        var k = 0;\n        var tweet = document.getElementById('twitter-post-widget-' + k);\n        var tweetParent, tweetID;\n        while (tweet) {\n            tweetParent = tweet.parentNode;\n            \/\/tweetID = tweet.dataset.tweetId;\n            tweetID = tweetParent.getAttribute(\"id\");\n            if(tweetID === null){\n              tweetID = tweet.dataset.tweetId;\n            }\n            \/\/var tweetVideoClass = tweet.getAttribute('class').split(' ')(0);\n            $(tweet).remove();\n            twttr.widgets.createTweet(\n                tweetID,\n                tweetParent\n            );\n            k++;\n            tweet = document.getElementById('twitter-post-widget-' + k);\n        }\n    });\n    \/*==============*\/\n    var tweetObjVid = document.getElementsByClassName('tweetVideo');\n    var counter_tweet = 0;\n    if (tweetObjVid.length == 0) {\n        tweetObjVid = document.getElementsByClassName('twitter-video');\n        $.each(tweetObjVid, function (i, v) {\n            $(this).attr('id', 'twitter-vid-widget-' + i);\n        });\n    } else {\n        $.each(tweetObjVid, function (i, v) {\n            if($(this).find('.twitter-video').length > 0){\n                $(this).find('.twitter-tweet').attr('id', 'twitter-vid-widget-' + counter_tweet);\n                counter_tweet++;\n            }\n        });\n    }\n    $.getScript('\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js', function () {\n        var v = 0;\n        var tweetVid = document.getElementById('twitter-vid-widget-' + v);\n        var tweetParentVid, tweetIDVid;\n        while (tweetVid) {\n            tweetParentVid = tweetVid.parentNode;\n            \/\/tweetIDVid = tweetVid.dataset.tweetId;\n            tweetIDVid = tweetParentVid.getAttribute(\"id\");\n            if(tweetIDVid === null){\n              tweetIDVid = tweet.dataset.tweetId;\n            }\n            $(tweetVid).remove();\n            twttr.widgets.createVideo(\n                tweetIDVid,\n                tweetParentVid\n            );\n            v++;\n            tweetVid = document.getElementById('twitter-vid-widget-' + v);\n        }\n    });\n}\nif($('.instagram-media').length > 0){\n    var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n    scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n    scriptElement.setAttribute=\"async\";\n    scriptElement.src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\";\n    document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n}\nif($('.tiktok-embed').length > 0){\n    var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n    scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n    scriptElement.setAttribute=\"async\";\n    scriptElement.src=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\";\n    document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n}\nif($('.redditPost').length > 0){\n    var scriptElement = document.createElement('script');\n    scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n    scriptElement.src = \"https:\/\/embed.redditmedia.com\/widgets\/platform.js\";\n    scriptElement.async = true;\n    scriptElement.charset = \"UTF-8\";\n    document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n}\nif($('.fb-video').length > 0 || $('.fb-post').length > 0){\n    var container_width = $(window).width();\n     if(container_width < 500){\n        if($('.fb-video').length > 0){\n            let embed_url = $('.fb-video').attr('data-href');\n            let htmla=\"\n<div style=\"float:none;\" class=\"fb_embed_section fb-video\" data-href=\"\"+embed_url+'\" data-width=\"380\" data-show-text=\"false\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n';\n            $('.fb-video').parent('.embed_external_url').html(htmla);\n        }\n        else{\n            let embed_url = $('.fb-post').attr('data-href');\n            let htmla=\"\n<div style=\"float:none;\" class=\"fb_embed_section fb-post\" data-href=\"\"+embed_url+'\" data-width=\"380\" data-show-text=\"false\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n';\n        }                \n    }\n    $('body').prepend('\n<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n');\n    var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n    scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n    scriptElement.setAttribute=\"async\";\n    scriptElement.src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.11&appId=580305968816694\";\n    document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n}    }, 4000);\n    document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {\n        var lazyloadImages = document.querySelectorAll(\"img.lazy\");\n        var lazyloadThrottleTimeout;\n        function lazyload () {\n            if(lazyloadThrottleTimeout) {\n                clearTimeout(lazyloadThrottleTimeout);\n            }\n            lazyloadThrottleTimeout = setTimeout(function() {\n                var scrollTop = window.pageYOffset;\n                lazyloadImages.forEach(function(img) {\n                    if(img.offsetTop < (window.innerHeight + scrollTop)) {\n                        img.src = img.dataset.src;\n                        img.classList.remove('lazy');\n                    }\n                });\n                if(lazyloadImages.length == 0) {\n                    document.removeEventListener(\"scroll\", lazyload);\n                    window.removeEventListener(\"resize\", lazyload);\n                    window.removeEventListener(\"orientationChange\", lazyload);\n                }\n            }, 20);\n        }\n\n        document.addEventListener(\"scroll\", lazyload);\n        window.addEventListener(\"resize\", lazyload);\n        window.addEventListener(\"orientationChange\", lazyload);\n    });\n\n\n\n  <\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AI&#8217;s silent coup: how swarms can influence democracy The perceived risks of AI are no longer limited to institutional structures or cognitive displacement. Increasingly, autonomous systems are emerging as a powerful source of instability at the political border. According to researchers, highly realistic AI-powered personalities may soon be useful in shaping public opinion and undermining<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[5611,688,23554],"class_list":{"0":"post-81104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bible-verse","8":"tag-affect","9":"tag-democracy","10":"tag-herds"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81106,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81104\/revisions\/81106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}