Deference Politics Invites Algorithmic Rule

Representative democracies already channel everyday governance through specialists and administrators, so citizens learn to participate only episodically. AI neatly fits this structure by making it even easier to defer choices to opaque systems, further distancing people from power while offering convenience. The risk is a gradual erosion of civic agency and legitimacy without a coup or 'killer robot.' — This reframes AI risk from sci‑fi doom to a governance problem: our institutions’ deference habits may normalize algorithmic decision‑making that undermines democratic dignity and accountability.