Harnessing Artificial Intelligence in Electoral Processes: Emerging Opportunities and Innovations

The rapid development of technologies is an occasion to reflect on their capabilities in various fields, including political, related to electoral processes. Since the election of authorities is the most important task of legitimizing it, therefore, the question of the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on this important field of activity becomes relevant. The purpose of the work is to characterize innovations and identify opportunities for the use of artificial intelligence in the electoral process. The source of the article was the results of an expert survey, a distinctive feature of which is the comparison of the results of a survey of experts - leading domestic researchers in the field of electoral processes - with the position of the NicbarBot chatbot. The method of collecting information during an expert survey is an unstandardized interview, the method of processing the obtained primary data is discourse analysis. On the part of artificial intelligence, the theoretical elaboration of questions, algorithmization of responses, political neutrality, and a focus on achieving positive results of electoral innovations were revealed. Unlike AI, experts measure their answers against the real political situation, society’s willingness to innovate, sometimes there is an ideological context in the answers and there is no idealized optimistic idea of possible positive changes that electoral innovations can bring. The conclusion is made about the ambivalence of AI, which is associated both with the performance of useful functions in the electoral process and with a danger to society, because a person has not yet learned to control it. The possibilities of AI in the electoral process are associated with a variety of activities during the preparation, conduct of elections and counting of votes, as well as in the activities of election management bodies. Artificial intelligence is becoming a trigger for electoral innovations, the focus of which depends on the developers and participants of the electoral process.