APPON Volume 16 Number 1 2026

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SOCIAL CHANGE: A MORAL AND POLITICAL ANALYSIS

Michael Chugozie Anyaehie Jude Emeka Odoh Jetty Joe Odey Florence Eke Adejoh
Abstract

ARTIFICIAL Intelligence AI is rapidly reshaping the social structures, means of decision- Amaking and forms of authority in contemporary society. Apart from the fact that AI serves as technical tool, its operation simulates forms of agency, sparking curiosity about responsibility, power and the moral limits of the autonomy of technology. The aim of this paper is to examine AI as a moral and political phenomenon by looking at how it affects the way we govern, do business and decide what is true. The paper employs thematic content analysis of philosophical and policy-oriented literature. The paper investigates how algorithmic decisionmaking challenges traditional sources of legitimacy, trust and democratic participation. The paper argues that current ethical frameworks are not sufficient to address the impact of AI on the society. It suggests a new approach that integrates humanism, anticipatory governance, and posthuman ethics to understand AI's effect on responsibility and power. The paper contributes to the conversation by demonstrating how AI's changes society and what is necessary to make AI align with justice, dignity and fairness. It concludes that AI impact depends on if governance structures can embed these values into technological design and deployment.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Moral responsibility; social change; Critical Humanism; Posthuman Ethics and Participatory Governance
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