Politics in the Digital and Artificial Intelligence Era

New Ethical Challenges

Abstract

This article analyzes the ethical challenges of politics in the digital and artificial intelligence era, with special attention to the manipulation of information in electoral contexts. Grounded in the centrality of human dignity and the need for free and conscious political choices, the study examines how digital technologies, algorithms, and AI systems influence public opinion and decision-making processes. The research highlights the ambivalent nature of these technologies, which, while expanding access to information, also foster surveillance, personalization, behavioral prediction, and the spread of disinformation. The article further discusses the impacts of informational bubbles and echo chambers on the fragmentation of the public sphere, as well as the role of cognitive heuristics, confirmation biases, and affective dynamics in shaping political behavior. In this context, the crisis of truth and the phenomenon of post-truth are understood as structural transformations in the relationship between information, knowledge, and democracy. Finally, the study emphasizes the importance of ethical discernment, critical thinking, and responsible participation in digital environments, advocating for the reconstruction of a democratic public sphere grounded in reliable information, accountability, and commitment to truth.