Artificial intelligence and the public arena

Abstract The public arena relies on artificial intelligence (AI) to ever greater degrees. Media structures hosting the arena—such as Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube—increasingly rely AI-enabled applications shape information environments, autonomously generate content, communicate with people. These affect arena’s functions: make society visible itself provide spaces for formation of publics counterpublics. We offer a framework that allows conceptualization empirical examination AI’s structural impact arena. Based this perspective, we argue growing uses AI will lead strengthening intermediary can exercise degree control over In addition, data-driven nature most AI-applications threatens push challenges political status quo out sight obstruct assessability interventions.