They’ll Use AI to Target Dissent. We Must Use It to Protect Expression.

Authoritarians no longer need to monitor everyone. They just need everyone to believe they’re being monitored.

Aug 20, 2025

∙ Paid

*The “No Kings” protest at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, June 14, 2025 | Susan J. Demas*

By Trygve Olson

This is the second part of the series, AI vs. Autocracy: Seven Lessons in the New Battle for Democracy.

In every authoritarian system I’ve worked in — from Belarus to Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe — opposition voices weren’t just suppressed.

They were tracked.…

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A guest post by

Searching for Hope

Strategist. Pro-democracy fighter. Father. Wisconsinite. Green Bay Packers owner. Founding Lincoln Project advisor. Girl Dad, who writes about democracy, life lessons, and strategy, because we all need hope.