6TH CONGRESS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FUTURE POLITICS
Increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms excel in writing, painting, facial recognition, predicting behavior, in short – replacing and surpassing humans in many areas of their activity. They are also increasingly embodied in robots and other intelligent machines. Biotechnology allows manipulation of genes, creation of bionic organs, thereby transforming humans at the physiological and psychological levels. The human living environment undergoes profound changes: the transformation of the biosphere accompanies the transfer of a significant part of our activity into the virtual world.
The permanence of these trends is uncertain, but undoubtedly, it is worth considering their various consequences, including political ones. In our daily political thinking, we are naturally influenced by current events, especially conflicts and crises. However, processes unfolding before us may have significant effects on politics in the medium and long term, beyond the next elections or wars. As political researchers, we should try to look beyond the horizon of daily events.
The future of politics is uncertain, but politics would not disappear given that its essence is managing the production and distribution of common resources. These resources will undoubtedly be of a different kind, and the nature of conflicts around them will change. However, fundamental, evolutionarily shaped predispositions to cooperation, rivalry, and stratification of human groups will likely continue to shape our social life.
What will the politics of the future look like? Will it rely on the same institutions, processes, mechanisms of power? Will they be adequate for the future political community, a hybrid society composed, perhaps, of human and non-human entities? Will we grant subjectivity to these non-human beings, or will we treat them instrumentally? What role will developing information technologies, especially artificial intelligence, play in wielding power? Will progress in bio- and nanotechnologies lead to changes in our values and goals, and consequently, in political ideologies and concepts of social order? Finally, what shape will international relations take?
We invite all political researchers to reflect on these and many other issues, regardless of their areas of interest – political scientists, political philosophers, specialists in international relations, security, social communication, public policy, and administration. Importantly, this task is not exclusive to futurologists because a thorough understanding of past and current states of phenomena, processes, and institutions is an essential starting point for predicting the future. We encourage all political researchers to consider the consequences of current processes and trends – social, economic, technological – for their specific fields. The diagnosis of the current state of research in a given field is as significant and valuable as long-term forecasts.
Attempting to understand the political aspects of the future is not only an intellectually fascinating challenge but also a social duty of our community. Identifying trends and probable scenarios will facilitate the design of strategies, shaping laws, and redefining the role of political institutions to respond to future challenges and avoid the lurking threats. The Congress of Political Science is an excellent forum for such discussions.