Media Coverage

Coverage of my research in international media, particularly regarding the Science Policy Forum article on AI swarms and democracy.

Short Profile

Daniel Thilo Schroeder is a research scientist in AI and computational social science whose work explores how AI-driven influence dynamics affect information ecosystems, democratic resilience, and societal security.

📷 Photos for media use

2026

February

• Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast (February 2026): Is the internet still free - and who decides? — Podcast episode exploring AI swarms and their impact on elections, free speech, and public trust.

• Radio Ecoshock (February 2026): AI Swarms: We Are Not Ready — Radio interview on AI swarms and their threat to democracy.

• CT24 (Czech Television) (February 2026): Roje AI mohou rozvrátit demokracie, varují výzkumníci — Czech public broadcaster coverage on how AI swarms could disrupt democracies.

• NRK (February 2026): Falske folkebevegelser truer demokratiet — Opinion piece on how fake grassroots movements powered by AI threaten democracy.

• Tagesschau (ARD) (February 2026): KI-Schwärme könnten die Demokratie gefährden — German public broadcaster coverage on how AI swarms could endanger democracy.

• WELT (February 2026): “Die Frage ist nicht, ob es sie gibt, sondern in welchem Ausmaß sie bereits operieren” — In-depth feature on AI swarms and their potential scale of operation.

• Der Spiegel (February 12, 2026): Künstliche Intelligenz: Experten warnen vor KI-Schwärmen, die unsere Demokratie bedrohen — Detailed feature initiated by Schroeder and Kunst, focusing on threats and countermeasures.

• SciTechDaily (February 4, 2026): The AI Threat You’ll Never See Coming Is Already Talking to You Online — Repackages UBC-sourced warnings on unseen online manipulation and influence on elections.

• Tages-Anzeiger (February 2, 2026): AI-Schwärme: Wie künstliche Intelligenz Wahlen manipuliert — Discusses how AI-driven opinion makers are more sophisticated than bots and endanger democracy; quotes Schroeder on Swiss vulnerabilities.

• The Jerusalem Post (February 1, 2026): Study warns AI bot swarms could undermine democracy — Summarizes warnings on swarms mimicking behavior to spread misinformation and threaten free thought/elections.

January

• StudyFinds.org (January 30, 2026): AI Armies That Never Sleep Are Faking Grassroots Movements, Threatening Democracy — Focuses on faking grassroots consensus.

• UBC Science (January 29, 2026): AI swarms could hijack democracy—without anyone noticing — Quotes Schroeder on “synthetic consensus” via iterative probing/amplification; features UBC co-author Kevin Leyton-Brown.

• MDR (ARD) (January 27, 2026): Fake-Account war gestern – jetzt bedrohen KI-Schwärme den öffentlichen Diskurs — Warns about KI swarms manipulating democratic opinion formation and distorting discourse, referencing Schroeder’s Science paper.

• The Power of Us (January 27, 2026): When AI Can Fake Majorities, Democracy Dies Quietly — Guest elements from Schroeder, Kunst, and Jay Van Bavel; references the full paper.

• Decrypt (January 26, 2026): AI ‘Swarms’ Could Escalate Online Misinformation and Manipulation, Researchers Warn — Includes Schroeder quotes on capabilities.

• Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (January 26, 2026): AI ‘swarms’ could quietly threaten democracy — Ties to co-author Meeyoung Cha; focuses on faking consensus without obvious bot-like patterns.

• Harvard Digital Data Design Institute (January 26, 2026): The New Influence War: How AI Could Hack Democracy — Discusses implications with input from co-author Amit Goldenberg.

• The Guardian (January 23, 2026): Experts warn of threat to democracy from ‘AI bot swarms’ infesting social media — Direct quotes from Schroeder on deployment ease and cross-platform operations.

• TechXplore (January 23, 2026): The next generation of disinformation: AI swarms can threaten democracy by manufacturing fake public consensus — Core summary of the paper’s thesis.

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) (January 23, 2026): KI-Agenten könnten demokratische Wahlen beeinflussen, mahnen Experten. Wirklich? — Analytical piece discussing the paper’s claims on AI agents influencing elections.

• Marcus on AI (Gary Marcus Substack) (January 23, 2026): AI bot swarms threaten to undermine democracy — Joint essay with Schroeder and Jonas R. Kunst, expanding on the Science paper.

• BI Norwegian Business School (January 23, 2026): AI swarms threaten democracy — Co-lead emphasis on shift from bots to “social organisms”; quotes Schroeder on urgent defenses.

• University of Konstanz (January 23, 2026): The next generation of disinformation — Highlights co-author David Garcia’s involvement.

• WIRED (January 2026): AI-Powered Disinformation Swarms Are Coming for Democracy — Covers the technological shift to adaptive swarms, referencing Schroeder as lead author.

• Live Science (late January 2026): Next-generation AI ‘swarms’ will invade social media by mimicking human behavior and harassing real users, researchers warn — Emphasizes invasion and harassment risks.

• EurekAlert! / AAAS (January 22, 2026): Malicious AI swarms pose emergent threats to democracy — Official press release summarizing threats and proposed “AI Influence Observatory.”

• City St George’s, University of London (January 22, 2026): AI “swarms” could fake public consensus and quietly distort democracy, Science Policy Forum warns — Emphasizes co-author Andrea Baronchelli’s role and imitation of social dynamics.

• SINTEF (January 22, 2026): Publication page and related announcements — Linking to the paper and interviews.