Politics, Governance, and Society in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization: Challenges, Transformations, and Perspectives

The accelerating integration of AI and digital technologies into governance, politics, and civic life has transformed democracy. This section explores how digitalisation and AI reshapes political institutions, participation, and governance. It brings together scholars examining how digital technologies mediate the exercise of power, redefine the relationship citizens-state, and reconfigure the logics of communication and organization across political contexts. The section situates AI and digitalisation as instruments and arenas of political contestation. While they promise efficiency, inclusion, and innovation in governance and public life, they also generate new inequalities, ethical dilemmas, and legitimacy crises. By combining empirical studies, theoretical reflections, and critical perspectives, this section aims to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue about how digital transformation can both challenge and renew democratic practice. This section contributes to the broader ECPR debates on democratic resilience, institutional innovation, and digital governance, positioning AI and digitalisation as central to contemporary political change, The panels address questions of power, participation, representation, and legitimacy in digitally mediated politics, linking micro-level practices with macro-level transformations of governance and democracy. Using diverse approaches—from computational social science, critical theory, and comparative politics—the section exemplifies the interdisciplinary and international ethos of the Internet and Politics Standing Group. It consists of eight panels, each addressing distinct but interrelated dimensions of the political consequences of digitalisation and AI: Panel 1: Governing by Algorithm – Artificial Intelligence and the Crisis of Governance Panel Chair: Bradley Ward, University of Southampton B.J.Ward@soton.ac.uk Panel Co-Chair: Darcy Luke, University of Manchester darcy.luke@manchester.ac.uk Discussant: Nathan Critch, University of Manchester nathan.critch@manchester.ac.uk This panel explores how governments increasingly turn to AI to overcome administrative inefficiencies and policy incoherence. It asks whether “technosolutionist” approaches can genuinely enhance state capacity and public service delivery, or whether they risk deepening governance crises through opacity, dependency, and ethical dilemmas. Contributions explore AI in bureaucracy, evidence-based policymaking, service automation, and AI governance. The panel focus on the tensions between efficiency and accountability in algorithmic governance. Panel 2: Can (Generative) Artificial Intelligence Be Ours? Critical Perspectives and Intersectional Dialogues Panel Chair: D’arcy Ritchie, University of Birmingham dxr316@student.bham.ac.uk Panel Co-Chair: Marco Guglielmo, University of Valencia marco2.guglielmo@uv.es Focusing on generative AI and its social imaginaries, this panel invites critical and intersectional analyses of the promises and harms of AI. It examines how (Gen)AI intersects with structures of inequality and exclusion, asking whether its transformative potential can be reclaimed for emancipatory ends. Contributions span fields such as creativity, environmental sustainability, labour, and social justice, emphasizing how power, bias, and non-neutrality shape the development and the deployment of AI technologies. The panel promotes dialogue between reformist and resistant approaches to AI futures. Panel 3: Synthetic Politics – The Rise of AI-Based Political Actors Chair: Michal Malý, Charles University michal.maly@fsv.cuni.cz Co-chair: Oscar Barberà, University of Valencia oscar.barbera@uv.es Discussant: Asker Bryld Staunæs, Aarhus University Abs@cc.au.dk This panel examines the emergence of “synthetic politics,” where AI agents, chatbots, and digital personas act as political representatives, candidates, or leaders. By analysing examples such as AI-generated candidates and synthetic parties, contributors explore how such developments challenge foundational democratic concepts of legitimacy, accountability, and representation. The panel combines political theory, communication studies, and computational perspectives to analyse the implications of human–AI co-representation and the transformation of the public sphere. Panel 4: Digitalisation and the Transformation of Political Organisations: Linkage Functions and Trends in Europe and Beyond Chair: Valeria Tarditi, University of Calabria valeria.tarditi@unical.it Co-chair: Daniel Oross, ELTE Centre for Social Sciences Oross.Daniel@tk.hu Discussant: Fabio Lupato, University Complutense Madrid fglupato@ucm.es This panel investigates how digitalisation reshapes the linkage functions of political and social organisations— parties, unions, and interest groups. It explores the uneven adoption of digital tools, the drivers of organisational adaptation, and implications for representation and participation. Contributors address the normative and practical consequences of digitalisation for democracy, transparency, and citizen engagement. Panel 5: Digital Competencies as Determinants of Digital Political Engagement Panel-Chair: Jasmin Fitzpatrick, University of Mainz (fitzpatrick@politik.uni-mainz.de Panel Co-Chair: Julia Schwanholz, University of Duisburg-Essen, julia.schwanholz@uni-due.de Focusing on the second-level digital divide, this panel examines how digital skills—or their lack—shape political participation in an increasingly digitalised environment. It explores how unequal access to digital competencies affects civic inclusion, especially as participation formats become hybrid or fully digital. Contributions investigate the intersection between literacy, autonomy, and rights in digital democracies, engaging with debates around the “right to remain offline” and the exclusionary risks of digital governance. Panel 6: Digital Invited Spaces and Citizens’ Inclusion at the Local Level – Constitutive Ambivalence and Paradoxical Dynamics Chair: Gilles Rouet, Paris-Saclay gilles.rouet@uvsq.fr Co-Chair: Petia Gueorguieva, New Bulgarian University, petiagueorguieva@gmail.com Discussants: Thierry Comes, thierry.come@uvsq.fr; Stella Raytcheva, stela.raytcheva@uvsq.fr This panel analyses digital participatory mechanisms— online consultations, participatory budgeting, and e-voting—introduced by local authorities to foster inclusion and transparency. It highlights the paradoxes of “invited spaces,” aiming to democratize participation, often reinforce top-down control and institutional legitimacy. Contributions examine how citizens appropriate or resist these digital participatory designs, revealing their ambivalent potential as tools of empowerment and instruments of governance. Panel 7: Political Parties, Leadership and Digital Transformation in Contemporary Democracies Chair: Marco Lisi, marcolisi@fcsh.unl.pt Co-Chair: Elzbieta Szulc-Walecka, elzbieta.szulc-walecka@mail.umcs.pl This panel explores how digitalization and AI are reshaping political party structures, leadership practices, and intra-party democracy. It examines how digital tools—AI-driven analytics or chatbots—transform legitimacy, transparency, and accountability. Contributors will assess the tension between efficiency and democratic integrity, focusing on how digital leadership affects cohesion and representation. Case or comparative analysis are welcomed, highlighting how traditional and digital-native parties adapt differently to technological change. Panel 8: Citizen Participation and Technologies in the Digital Age: Challenges of Inclusion and Exclusion Co-chairs: Michał Jacuński, michal.jacunski@uwr.edu.pl, Izabela Kapsa, izabela.kapsa@ukw.edu.pl Discussant: Elżbieta Szulc – Wałecka, elzbieta.szulc-walecka@mail.umcs.pl This panel investigates how digital technologies influence citizen participation, empowerment, and exclusion in contemporary democracies. It addresses the potential of digital tools to enhance engagement and their risks of deepening inequalities and mistrust. Contributors are expected to discuss grassroots activism, digital education, and AI’s role in mobilization. The panel evaluates mechanisms like e-consultations and participatory budgeting, assessing whether they foster inclusion, rebuild trust, and strengthen democratic legitimacy.