LessWrong (30+ Karma) “By Strong Default, ASI Will End Liberal Democracy” by MichaelDickens
Apr 7, 2026
Michael Dickens, writer on AI safety and political fallout, argues that artificial superintelligence will break the balance of power that sustains liberal democracy. He explores how ASI control can defeat military or legislative checks. He runs through scenarios: a DARPA-built ASI seizing power, slow take-off and distributed control as escape routes, and whether an aligned ASI could actually defend civil liberties.
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ASI Control Determines Democracy's Survival
- Whoever controls ASI can defeat any opposition, so control of ASI determines whether liberal democracy survives.
- Michael Dickens uses a DARPA scenario where an ASI could repel presidential or congressional attempts to seize it as the concrete mechanism.
Slow Takeoff And Distributed Control Are Hard Preconditions
- Avoiding a de facto dictatorship requires slow, incremental AI progress plus widely distributed control at each step.
- Dickens highlights barriers: frontier LLMs need supercomputers, firms resist distribution, and distribution raises misuse risks.
Mandate Transparent Training And Democratic Values
- Pursue alignment that makes ASI protect liberal democracy and make training public and auditable by law.
- Dickens suggests mandating transparent training and steering the AI toward valuing democracy before deployment.