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Democracy Works: Will AI Destroy Democracy?

Jay Yonamine

Some political scientists and democracy scholars think that it might. The thinking goes something like this: inequality will rise as jobs continue to be automated, which will cause distrust in the government and create fertile ground for authoritarianism.

Jay Yonamine is uniquely qualified to weigh in on this issue. He is a data scientist at Google and has a Ph.D. in political science. He has a unique perspective on the relationship between automation and democracy, and the role that algorithms and platforms play in the spread of misinformation online.  

Yonamine is a Penn State alumnus and received the 2019 Penn State Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes the professional accomplishments of alumni under age 35. 

Jenna Spinelle is the Communications Specialist for the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. She is responsible for shaping all of the institute's external communication, including website content, social media, multimedia, and media outreach.
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