人工智慧如何摧毀機構

How AI Destroys Institutions

77 UC Law Journal (forthcoming 2026)

Boston Univ. School of Law Research Paper No. 5870623

40 Pages

	Posted: 8 Dec 2025
	
		Last revised: 13 Jan 2026

Woodrow Hartzog

Boston University School of Law; Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society

Jessica M. Silbey

Boston University - School of Law

Date Written: December 05, 2025

Abstract

Civic institutions—the rule of law, universities, and a free press—are the backbone of democratic life. They are the mechanisms through which complex societies encourage cooperation and stability, while also adapting to changing circumstances. The real superpower of institutions is their ability to evolve and adapt within a hierarchy of authority and a framework for roles and rules while maintaining legitimacy in the knowledge produced and the actions taken. Purpose-driven institutions built around transparency, cooperation, and accountability empower individuals to take intellectual risks and challenge the status quo. This happens through the machinations of interpersonal relationships within those institutions, which broaden perspectives and strengthen shared commitment to civic goals.Unfortunately, the affordances of AI systems extinguish these institutional features at every turn. In this essay, we make one simple point: AI systems are built to function in ways that degrade and are likely to destroy our crucial civic institutions. The affordances of AI systems have the effect of eroding expertise, short-circuiting decision-making, and isolating people from each other. These systems are anathema to the kind of evolution, transparency, cooperation, and accountability that give vital institutions their purpose and sustainability. In short, current AI systems are a death sentence for civic institutions, and we should treat them as such.

Keywords: , artificial intelligence, institutions, expertise

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Woodrow Hartzog (Contact Author)

765 Commonwealth AvenueBoston, MA 02215United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.bu.edu/law/profile/woodrow-hartzog/

Palo Alto, CAUnited States

HOME PAGE: http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/profile/woodrow-hartzog

Jessica M. Silbey

765 Commonwealth AvenueBoston, MA 02215United States

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