Against the Politicization of AI

Stop Turning AI Into a Wedge Issue

Now more than ever, we must strengthen our resolve that right makes might. Lincoln's words remind us that principle, not partisanship, must guide us—especially when violence tempts us to abandon civility. The murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University shows how fragile our civility has become, and there are real costs to that fragility. However, civility is not a tactic. It is not something we do because it "works." We practice it because it is right, because it is the foundation of a democratic society worth preserving.

How AI Is Being Politicized

AI is already becoming the next wedge issue. Media coverage splits along partisan lines. A study in Social Science Computer Review found that in South Korea, conservative newspapers used a "development" frame, emphasizing economic growth and competitiveness, while progressive outlets favored a "crisis" frame, stressing risks like misinformation and job loss. Researchers concluded that "such framing shapes how citizens perceive artificial intelligence, influencing whether they support or oppose AI development policies."

Commentary here at home reflects it too. One opinion piece in The American Prospect called AI "an oligarchy-enriching, worker-immiserating, energy-depleting, brain-rotting economic bubble in waiting" and urged Democrats to oppose the industry outright. Meanwhile, others present AI as a necessary driver of innovation, echoing voices who told WXXI News, "AI will not devastate the job market, but it can certainly transform the nature of work in many ways."

And the Duluth News Tribune warned that under a government hostile to labor, "AI will raise productivity… but that we are facing a regime that is so much more anti-labor than those before is not a good sign for the distribution of gains from AI productivity going forward."

Each side has carved out its narrative: AI as savior or AI as scourge. Neither story is complete. Once AI becomes absorbed into partisan warfare, balanced governance is almost impossible.

The Cost of the Divide

The danger of politicizing AI is that we lose balance. When it swings toward innovation alone, risks like job loss get ignored or dismissed as obstacles to progress. When it swings toward fear of danger, experimentation freezes, and chances to improve services, reduce costs, or expand access vanish.

The divide also corrodes public trust. If residents hear only hype, they become disillusioned when technology fails to deliver. If they hear only alarm, they may resist useful tools that could improve their daily lives. Both dynamics undermine democratic decision-making, because people are not engaging with the real tradeoffs but with caricatures shaped by politics.

The divide also wastes resources. Governments pulled into ideological fights spend energy defending positions instead of building safeguards, testing pilots, or setting clear rules. Communities lose twice—first by not addressing risks, and second by missing opportunities for practical innovation.

Either way, the conversation stops being about governing AI responsibly and starts being about defending a side. And either way, we lose the ability to govern AI responsibly.

A Call Toward Civility

AI is not inherently left or right. It is not pro-worker or anti-worker. It is a set of tools, and its impact depends entirely on how we govern it.

The call here is for civility—not because it always produces quick results, but because it is the only way to build trust strong enough to carry a community through disagreement. Civility means asking questions before passing judgment: What problem are we solving? Who benefits, and who bears the risk? What safeguards are in place?

When local governments approach AI with civility, they move past wedge politics. They create space for residents to see real tradeoffs, rather than partisan caricatures. They build a culture where difficult decisions about budgeting, inspections, safety, and resident trust can be made without turning technology into a loyalty test.

The Real Leadership Challenge

The deeper challenge is cultural. If we let AI become another partisan battlefield, we will only accelerate the same cycles of escalation that already threaten our public life. The alternative is harder but necessary: to govern with principle, not partisanship. To insist on evidence and context instead of ideology. To practice civility even when it feels futile.

Because if civility only applies when it "works," then it was never civility at all. And if AI becomes just another wedge issue, we will lose the chance to shape it wisely. As Lincoln urged in that same address, "The mystic chords of memory… will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."