Will US democracy withstand the tensions created by AI?

By: Beatrice E. Rangel - 04/08/2026

In the year the United States commemorates two and a half centuries of republican life, the economic horizon appears fraught with uncertainty. The growing fiscal deficit, persistent inflationary pressures, and trade imbalances coincide with a level of political polarization rarely seen since the Civil War. The question is unavoidable: can American democracy overcome this new period of profound economic and social tensions as it has in the past?

History offers reasons for both concern and optimism. Historians and political scientists agree that the period leading up to and during the Civil War (1861–1865) constituted the most politically fractured time in the nation's history. More than 600,000 people lost their lives in a conflict that threatened the very continuity of the Union.

That crisis was preceded by the clash between two incompatible economic models. While the North was rapidly advancing toward industrialization, the South remained anchored in an agricultural economy based on slavery. The political confrontation was, to a large extent, the expression of a profound economic transformation.

Today, the United States is undergoing another historic transition, distinct in its characteristics but comparable in its scope. The industrial economy that dominated the 19th and 20th centuries is giving way to a new productive structure driven by artificial intelligence, automation, and massive data processing. Like any technological revolution, this transformation not only modifies how wealth is produced; it also alters educational systems, the labor market, the organization of cities, and opportunities for social mobility.

Major economic revolutions always produce winners and losers. The Industrial Revolution generated strong resistance among those who saw their traditional trades disappear. The English Luddites destroyed machinery, convinced that new technologies would eliminate their jobs. Since then, virtually all disruptive innovations have sparked similar fears.

The current technological transition also comes after two financial crises that severely impacted the wealth of millions of American families. The bursting of the dot-com bubble between 2000 and 2002 wiped out trillions of dollars in stock market value and significantly reduced the savings of countless households. Just a few years later, the 2008 mortgage crisis led to an even greater loss of family wealth, affecting homes, retirement funds, and financial assets.

As a result, large segments of the population perceive that the promise of social mobility that characterized the so-called "American Dream" for decades has weakened. Various studies show a prolonged process of relative reduction in the size of the middle class and an increase in economic insecurity for many workers.

This economic malaise has had inevitable political consequences. A significant portion of the electorate found in Donald Trump an answer to their sense of economic and cultural abandonment. While the MAGA movement is socially diverse and cannot be reduced solely to the impoverished middle class, it is clear that much of its strength comes from citizens who believe the political system has failed to protect their opportunities for advancement.

The real question is whether the artificial intelligence revolution will accelerate these tensions. If automation eliminates jobs faster than the economy can create new opportunities, feelings of frustration could intensify and fuel sharper forms of political confrontation.

This would not be the first time that American democracy has faced a challenge of this magnitude. Its history demonstrates an extraordinary capacity to adapt to profound economic and social transformations. However, this resilience has never been automatic. It has depended on strong institutions, leadership capable of building consensus, and public policies that distribute the benefits of growth equitably.

The true challenge of the artificial intelligence age will not be exclusively technological. It will be, above all, political. The strength of American democracy will depend on its ability to ensure that the coming economic revolution expands opportunities for the majority and does not deepen the divisions that threaten national cohesion today.

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».