Leveraging AI Technologies in Politics: Navigating Threats and Unveiling Opportunities

Presently, the rapid evolution of digital technologies that profoundly reshape diverse facets of human endeavor stands as a pivotal theme in both scholarly discourse and practical application. Prominent among these advancements are artificial intelligence (AI henceforth) and neural networks, emerging as indispensable instruments within the realm of politics. The pervasive transformation wrought by integrating AI extends across numerous dimensions of political engagement - spanning strategic design of electoral campaigns through efficient governance mechanisms. Artificial intelligence can provide the opportunity to analyze huge amounts of data and is already being actively used in various countries, opening up new perspectives for understanding social dynamics. In this regard, the article analyzes the main risks and potential of introducing artificial intelligence technologies into the political sphere. The purpose of the study is to identify the main threats and opportunities for the use of artificial intelligence technologies in modern Russian politics. The methods of collecting empirical data were: in-depth interviews of experts (32 experts, representatives of the academic community, IT specialists, government officials, as well as experts in the field of implementation and implementation of digital technologies) from 7 regions of the country, a series of focus groups (5 focus groups) among young people (18-35 years old), average age (36-59 years); senior (retirement) age (60 and over). 10 respondents participated in each focus group. According to the results of the study, the main threats and opportunities for the use of artificial intelligence technologies in the political sphere were identified.