The political economy of robots: prospects for prosperity and peace in the automated 21st century

Abstract

This edited volume examines the implications of increasingly ‘autonomous’ information technologies for human prosperity and security. The chapters can be divided into three sets. The first set (pp. 17–127) considers the practical implications of increasingly autonomous technology for human security and prosperity in specific domains, such as global trade, drug enforcement and healthcare. The second set (pp. 127–235) focuses on autonomous artificial intelligence (AI)-driven decision-making, particularly in politics. The third set (pp. 235–327) examines the ethical and political implications of autonomous technology in military conflict. Especially noteworthy are the chapters by Samuel Woolley, Leslie Paul Thiele and Kiggins, each of which contributes to a deeper theoretical understanding of the implications of autonomous systems for political decision-making and democracy. Both Woolley and Kiggins advocate for a more serious recognition of the role of (semi-)autonomous systems as non-human political agents. Woolley, charting the rise of ‘political bots’ (software, algorithms and networks), argues for a ‘hybridized’ (p. 149) approach to political communication studies, which should include the interactions of political bots (as well as their developers) as new units of analysis. Likewise, Kiggins argues that increasingly ‘non-human’ artificial intelligence-driven policy outcomes should be afforded the same ontological and epistemological status as the outcomes of human-based policy decision-making (p. 228).