Technological Progress and Intergenerational Domination: Implications for Democratic Representation

Technological progress, whether the advent of fossil fuels, nuclear weapons, or now predictive algorithms has vastly increased the power of the present generation over future ones. Current AI systems are based on extrapolation of existing social patterns into future predictions, potentially reinforcing and locking-in discriminatory outcomes as part of emerging digital infrastructure (Robbins & Van Wynsberghe 2022). This threatens the central democratic value of autonomy and self-determination of future generations. Adopting a non-domination view of intergenerational justice, this article investigates the implications of these technological dynamics for democratic values, particularly through the lens of intergenerational domination. Such domination is characterized by the present people subjugating and violating the autonomy of future generations by arbitrarily determining the conditions of their actions, increasingly evident in recent technological advances (Nolt, 2011; Beckman, 2016). I defend a relational and structural account of intergenerational domination irrespective of its harmful outcomes, against criticisms such as overgeneralization and intentional interference (see Pettit, 1997; Lovett, 2001). I argue intergenerational domination can only be overcome by establishing institutional representation for future generations in political decision-making to render the power relation between generations less arbitrary. In doing so, I challenge a narrower view by Anja Karnein (2022), who suggests that the representation of future generations should be limited to only a narrow set of issues, due to the legitimacy and accountability challenges of representing posterity. In response, I argue that such arguments miss the structural nature of domination, which is not restricted to only specific technological issues or policies. Moreover, the challenges to wider political representation of future generations' interests can be overcome by more discursive and deliberative forms of political representation (Ekeli, 2005; Niemeyer & Jennstål, 2016). This deliberative concept of representation is aimed at ensuring autonomy and options of future generations, rather than knowing their specific technological interests. The article sheds light on the implications of technology-driven intergenerational domination for institutions of representative democracy. It is shown that preserving option value, limiting path dependencies and technological lock-ins become key governance considerations under the non-domination view. On an institutional level, this implies the need to represent future generations through deliberative processes such as mini-publics on important technological decisions related to e.g. AI deployment in society (Smith, 2021; Mackenzie, 2018).