AI as the Next Amplifier?

Like weapons, Artificial Intelligence can also act as an amplifier.

Poorly regulated: AI increases tensions.

Examples:

• Deepfakes: Fake videos discredit politicians

• Algorithms: Show everyone only what makes them angry

• Surveillance: Authoritarian states use AI to control their citizens

Well regulated: AI could help stabilize societies.

• Transparency

• Fairness

• Safeguards against abuse

But historically, new technologies have often been used for control — not for participation, and not

for social progress.

Authoritarian states already use AI for surveillance.

Democracies must be careful not to follow the same path.

Here is an image showing AI as an amplifier of social tensions:

Source: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/3/62

Historical Patterns

Over the past 200 years, one pattern has repeated itself:

Every 50–70 years, there are major upheavals.

Examples:

• 1800–1850: Industrial Revolution → nationalism, colonialism, wars

•  1914–1945: Electricity and mass media → world wars, system shifts (communism, fascism, democracy)

• 1970–2000: Digitalization and globalization → polarization, information crises, identity politics

• 2020–?: AI and climate change → ?

Area	Development	Tendency
Institutional Neutrality	Supreme Court increasingly ideologically stuffed, judiciary as a political tool	Weakness
Media System	Polarized Information Spaces, disinformation, algorithmic echo chambers	Weakness
Elections and Legitimacy	Doubts about election results, delegitimiziation of electoral processes	Erosion Risk
Executive Power	Presidential decrees instead of consensus politics; Congress blockades	Power Concentration
Social Cohesion	Polarization, identity politics, militia movements	Fragmentation
Economy and Lobyism	Large corporations (Tech, Defense, Pharma)	Power Asymmetry

Here is a simple graphic showing cycles of social change:

What happens in these phases?

Each time, the balance shifts between:

• Freedom vs. security

• Openness vs. control

• Innovation vs. tradition

Some countries find a new balance. Others collapse.

Are these laws? No — they are not natural laws.

They are patterns, guiding frameworks that help us recognize similarities.

They do not predict the future.

And Now: The AI Era

We are facing a new transformation.

This time, it may happen faster:

Technology: AI is changing everything — work, communication, power

Environment: Climate change threatens resources and stability

Society: Polarization is increasing

When these factors intensify at the same time, they reinforce one another.

Two Scenarios

Wrong Regulatios

• Liberal countries: Too open 

→ AI is misused due to excessive freedom 

→ inequality grows

• Conservative countries: Too controlling 

→ AI is used for surveillance and state power 

→ inequality grows too

Result:

In both liberal and conservative systems, imbalance emerges.

Power concentrates in the hands of a few.

Power attracts corrupt people — like a magnet.

Tensions escalate. Societies tip over.

The Right Balance

So how can a society maintain equilibrium?

Hybrid systems:

• Transparency (liberal) + protection against abuse (conservative)

• AI is regulated — but not suffocated

• Innovation remains possible — but fair

Result: Stability.

Maybe even a constructive renewal.