AI swarms could hijack democracy—without anyone noticing
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 19-Jun-2026 23:15 ET (20-Jun-2026 03:15 GMT/UTC)
They don’t march in the streets or storm the polls, but a new breed of AI-controlled personas could be the next big threat to democracy.
According to a new policy forum paper in Science, Swarms of AI personas mimic humans so well they can infiltrate online communities, shape conversations, and tilt elections—all at machine speed. Unlike old-school botnets, these agents coordinate in real time, adapt to feedback, and sustain coherent narratives across thousands of accounts.
Education systems need to focus more on independent critical thinking and rational, evidence-based learning and problem-solving to find answers to many of the unprecedented environmental, social and economic challenges facing humanity, experts say.
Scientists from around the world, including Flinders University microbiologist Dr Jake Robinson, have called for a radical refocus of school curricula from early years to high school to include more critical thinking and learning skills to empower students to ‘think outside the box’.
The Ocean Equity Index is a scorecard that anyone can use to assess the extent to which ocean projects and policies recognize relevant stakeholders, include them in decision-making and otherwise treat them fairly.