Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern's response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

Don’t panic: AI can strengthen democracy too

People in this story

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, October 2024

A townsperson woke Carlos Restrepo in the middle of the night telling him to flee. Residents of El Pital wanted to kill Restrepo because of his political leaning. This was 1940s Colombia, the beginning of a decade-long civil war between the Colombian Conservative Party and the Colombian Liberal Party. Colombia’s intense two-party rivalry, exacerbated by its winner-take-all political system, led to partisan enclaves in cities and regions, with areas becoming dominated by either liberals or conservatives. Restrepo’s family kept this account quiet until his granddaughter saw parallels between their story and the current American political climate.

“There weren’t a shared set of common occurrences, common facts, or a common national identity,” depolarization advocate Phelosha Collaros said about her grandfather’s time. Because their fragmented media outlets presented conflicting realities and painted the other side as evil, emotional polarization worsened and mutual toleration began to collapse.

Read more on The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

More Stories

Trump signing executive orders enacting Project 2025 plans.

Donald Trump shunned Project 2025 as a candidate, but is adopting its ideas in office

02.07.2025
A pile of pennies.

Trump says he has directed US Treasury to stop minting new pennies, citing rising cost

02.07.2025
A pile of pennies

Is the Penny Going Away? Trump Orders Halt on Production

02.10.25
All Stories