Artificial intelligence Researchers warn of AI swarms as a new threat to democracy
Thousands of AI-controlled online personas infiltrating social networks and influencing people's opinions: In the specialist journal "Science", an international research team warns of malicious "AI swarms" that could endanger democratic processes.
23.01.2026, 09:31
SDA
The warning from over 20 experts, including Frank Schweitzer from ETH Zurich, was published in the journal "Science".
AI swarms are networks of many autonomous, AI-controlled online personas that generate coordinated content to influence opinions and dynamics in digital communities. Unlike simple bots, these AI swarms learn from reactions and mimic human communication. This makes it very difficult to recognize them.
Targeted influencing of votes is also possible in Switzerland in principle, said Schweitzer at the request of Keystone-SDA. A high voter turnout and diverse media use could counteract this.
