Political Actors in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence: The Czech Perspective

Abstract

Background: The phenomenon of artificial intelligence (AI) has been studied for decades. However, only the ascent of tools such as ChatGPT brought AI into a broader public consciousness, as people started using it for a broad spectrum of tasks and questions.Objective: The goal of this overview article is to present a new perspective on AI issues in the context of the social sciences and, more specifically, political science. Indeed, AI tools play an important role in the political process-a fact reflected by governments and other political actors, including political parties.Methods: The qualitatively and interpretively oriented paper seeks to demonstrate existing connotations of the relationship between AI and politics in the Czech context. The text is designed as an overview based on secondary sources. We first focus on AI popularity and use in the general public and public institutions. Then the article focuses on government strategies with implications for international organizations. The final part outlines the relationship between generative AI and Czech political parties.Results: The results indicate that the popularity of AI grew substantially after OpenAI launched its model. Nowadays, generative AI-based tools are commonly used by various public institutions. To date, the Government of the Czech Republic has issued two national strategies on AI issues. Political parties are among the actors using generative AI on a daily basis.Conclusion: The analysis seeks to fill in the blanks in this under-researched area and to demonstrate what kind of interdisciplinary implications of the AI-politics relationship can be examined. Moreover, we view the gradual adoption of AI tools as the next step in the process of adaptation to new digital tools that started years ago.

Keywords

• ai
• genai
• gai
• political actor
• political science
• national artificial intelligence strategy
• nais