Code and Consent: AI, Power, and the Future of Governance

The rapid diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming governance across domains ranging from welfare delivery and policing to national security and global regulation. While existing debates focus on efficiency, ethics, and technological capability, insufficient attention has been paid to the underlying power relations embedded in AI-driven governance. This paper examines how AI reshapes governance by reconfiguring authority, consent, and accountability across domestic and global political orders. Drawing on political theory, critical data studies, and International Relations scholarship, the paper argues that AI governance is not merely a technical challenge but a political project that redistributes power among states, corporations, and citizens. Through a mechanism-based framework, the study analyses how algorithmic decision-making, data asymmetries, and private technological control alter traditional notions of democratic consent and sovereign authority. Using illustrative cases from digital welfare systems, predictive governance, and global AI regulation, the paper demonstrates that AI governance often operates through post-consent mechanisms, where compliance is automated rather than deliberated. The study concludes by outlining pathways for re-democratising AI governance through institutional design, regulatory pluralism, and global cooperation.