As algorithms embed themselves into social problem-solving tasks, they establish ubiquitous influence through the embedding of logical rules. Photo: TUCHONG

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With the improvement of global digital infrastructure and the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, digital geopolitical competition is intensifying. The use of algorithms as weapons in political rivalry is becoming increasingly evident. From countering neural network-generated deepfakes to recommendation algorithms influencing public opinion, from political bots manipulating fake accounts to lethal autonomous weapons executing unmanned missions, from facial micro-expression recognition deconstructing the psychological profiles of political figures to deep data mining enabling precise transnational political communication, the weaponization of algorithms in digital politics is becoming more pronounced.

Computational thinking in political arena 

Algorithm “weaponization” refers to the strategic, systematic and purposeful use of powerful algorithmic tools and strategies by political actors to influence behavior and shape the political landscape, supported by computing power under the guidance of computational thinking. In this context, algorithms are not only used strategically as tools for exerting political influence but also tactically as weapons to shape rules.

Unlike traditional political thinking, which relies on subjective experience and judgment, computational thinking is more akin to a social engineering mindset. It assumes that everything can be quantified and calculated, aiming to understand the operation of social systems through systematic scientific methods and computational means—monitoring, computing, and evaluating the social environment as well as social behavior. In this sense, algorithms can be visualized as task identification, process control, and implementation methods aimed at social issues, and using computational thinking to analyze and solve social problems has a distinct engineering and technical nature. 

When applied to the political arena, computational thinking aims to achieve results that conventional problem-solving methods cannot through certain automated and intelligent task modules, thereby optimizing the allocation of political resources and enhancing policy implementation effectiveness. Unlike traditional methods that passively summarize experience based on existing social facts, computational thinking actively explores and detects problems, using data instead of experience and algorithms instead of intuition. This shift transforms political observation from subjective human analysis to objective intelligent discovery.

In simple terms, the “weaponization” of algorithms can be intuitively understood as the intervention and application of computational thinking in the political arena. Suitable algorithms can accurately monitor and capture social facts, clearly judge issues and their development, and provide countermeasures that transcend traditional thinking for policy responses.

Revolutionizing military, diplomacy 

Looking to the future, algorithms will become ubiquitous in the digital and intelligent environment, quietly transforming traditional international competition into a form of “algorithmic politics.” 

Firstly, in the military domain, algorithms are being utilized as new warfare tools and strategies. For instance, in 2017, the US Department of Defense proposed the concept of “Algorithmic Warfare,” clearly defining its three main elements: algorithm development for key mission needs, building and deploying computational resources to support these algorithms, and deploying various intelligent military application technologies and systems based on algorithms. This move officially established “Algorithmic Warfare” as an operational concept by the US military. Consequently, many scholars believe that the involvement of algorithms in military conflicts will revolutionize the rules and nature of warfare, posing unprecedented challenges to arms races and crisis management. Driven by algorithms, future warfare is likely to evolve into intelligent confrontations centered around algorithms.

 Secondly, in the diplomatic field, algorithms are driving technological innovation in diplomatic workflows and changing the nature of diplomatic work. Following “cyber diplomacy,” “new media diplomacy,” and “data diplomacy,” the rise of “computational diplomacy” represents a social, computable, and intelligent transformation of diplomatic decision-making, actions, and workflows. Relying on ultra-powerful computing infrastructure and selectable algorithmic tools, computational diplomacy integrates social computing theory and methods into the entire diplomatic process. This manifests in algorithmic, automated, and intelligent diplomatic situational awareness, decision-making processes, strategy execution, and workflows. 

In the future, the overall trend of computational diplomacy is to move towards holographic computing of multimodal and cross-modal data throughout the diplomatic process, including smart intelligence perception, automated diplomatic workflows, visualized diplomatic strategy execution, and instant and traceable policy feedback. In summary, computational diplomacy is essentially a form of intelligent diplomacy driven by algorithms.

Algorithm embedding, rules making

Algorithms are gradually showing a trend of being increasingly “weaponized” by political actors. In this sense, algorithms have not only become new sources of risk and new security challenges but are also increasingly becoming agents of power-shaping as they are embedded into social structures.

Firstly, algorithms are penetrative. They can easily bypass national physical boundaries and interpersonal networks, silently disrupting political dynamics in both foreign countries and domestically. This has rendered traditional national sovereign boundaries and political rules seemingly ineffective. Consider the case of Iran’s “Twitter Revolution,” where algorithmic technologies enabled a nation’s online public opinion to be purposefully and systematically manipulated by foreign politicians into an “online color revolution.” 

In April 2024, a research report by the Media Research Center revealed that tech giant Google had repeatedly used algorithms to interfere in US and other countries’ elections since 2008. The report accused Google’s search algorithms of using biased search results to assist their preferred candidates in winning elections while censoring their opponents. In short, the penetrative nature of algorithms is gradually breaking through the constraints of sovereign boundaries and interpersonal networks, extending the cross-domain influence of political actors. In this sense, algorithmic penetration is gradually evolving into a technological confrontation of international political subversion and counter-subversion.

Secondly, algorithms can be embedded. As the logical rules enabling AI systems, algorithms are always embedded in specific social contexts, developed and deployed by specific actors for specific tasks. This embeddedness allows them to allocate resources and direct actions to achieve specific political objectives. Thus, algorithms can be seen as a form of “embedded power,” permeating various scenarios and corners of AI applications. 

Under the guise of facilitating, automating, and intelligently executing tasks, algorithms operate in the background, invisibly integrating into all aspects of human social production, life, work, and entertainment. They are gradually evolving into a significant force driving intelligent transformation in various fields, shaping human cognition, and altering resource distribution patterns. In this context, algorithms are increasingly used as “tools for shaping social rules.” In the increasingly fierce international political game, the purposeful, organized, and deliberate use of algorithmic logic by political actors to construct social norms is becoming more frequent, with algorithms increasingly viewed as standard intelligent tools for influencing others’ behavior, enhancing power, gaining advantages, or ensuring security.

Lastly, algorithms are ubiquitous. Simply put, “ubiquity” refers to the omnipresence of algorithms in enabling AI functions and services. Algorithms are not only central to the automatic perception and computation capabilities of AI but, more importantly, their deep coupling with various societal domains has merged physical and virtual spaces into an expansive digital ecosystem, thereby expanding the capabilities of intelligent technology. 

As algorithms embed themselves into social problem-solving tasks, they establish ubiquitous influence through the embedding of logical rules. In other words, algorithms construct logic, logic forms rules, and rules are embedded in social structures. Overall, with the advancement and large-scale application of AI technology, algorithms will further integrate into all aspects of human production and life and will shape human cognition, direct human behavior, and establish algorithm-driven social structures and normative systems in a more covert and less detectable manner under the guise of “intelligence.”

Dong Qingling is a professor from the School of International Relations at the University of International Business and Economics.

Edited by WENG RONG