AI brings both disruption and opportunity, redefining productivity, reshaping jobs, and driving breakthroughs across industries. This article emphasises that with wisdom and collective responsibility, this technology can bring a new Renaissance that empowers humanity, rather than divides it.

AI takes the podium in the United Nations General Assembly met in October in New York. The UN General Assembly and Security Council placed AI high on the agenda, stressing its dual potential for progress and harm while calling for global regulations, especially on autonomous weapons. The UN launched the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and announced an International Independent Scientific Panel on AI.

Hackers have been using AI-generated voice messages to impersonate senior US government officials in an ongoing effort to break into the online accounts of current and former US officials. The hackers could use the information they steal to “to impersonate contacts to elicit information or funds,” the FBI said.

In the wave of elections that took place in 2024 around the globe, AI was used in more than 80% . While not all uses were malicious, the technology was frequently employed to demean or discredit opponents, influencing election outcomes. The most deceptive uses of AI have come from autocratic countries seeking to interfere in elections.

A summit was held in Sweden in August 2025, gathering 18 AI leaders and experts from big tech organizations and the OECD. The summit paints a dark picture: advanced AI could severely disrupt labor markets, deepen inequalities, weaken democratic institutions, and erode individual purpose and dignity. Governments should take action and enforce interventions and safety nets that might help mitigate these threats.

Will democracy survive when AI is fully integrated into our lives and societies? Democracy has historically depended on citizens’ economic and military contributions, not simply on ideals of equality. With the rise of AI which threatens to replace a vast share of human labor, this foundation may erode. The central challenge is building a political and economic system that ensures care and dignity for people even when society no longer needs their labor.