Ai vs AI: How can one not be enslaved by autocracy?

Ai Weiwei: It is an unsolvable question in the present era. Individuals or groups, if not detached from society, inevitably exist within a specific social structure unavoidably comprised of those who are enslaved and those who enact enslavement.

ChatGPT (AI), January 2024: To avoid being enslaved by autocracy, individuals can engage in civic participation, support democratic institutions, advocate for human rights, stay informed, and resist oppressive measures through peaceful means.

ChatGPT (AI), January 2025: Avoiding enslavement by autocracy requires a combination of personal awareness, societal action, and institutional safeguards. Autocracies—systems of government where power is concentrated in the hands of one leader or a small group—often thrive by manipulating, suppressing, or controlling the populace. The danger is that they gradually undermine freedom, dissent, and democratic principles, making it harder for citizens to resist.

Here are several ways to resist becoming “enslaved” by autocracy:

1. Stay Informed and Critical:
   Independent Thinking: Autocracies often thrive on misinformation and the suppression of dissenting views. Critical thinking and skepticism towards official narratives are vital for avoiding manipulation.
   Access to Information: Support and seek out independent media, fact-checking platforms, and diverse perspectives. Governments may control or distort information, so looking beyond state-controlled outlets is essential.
   Education: A strong foundation in history, political science, and ethics can help people recognize the warning signs of an authoritarian shift and understand the principles that safeguard liberty.
   
2. Defend the Rule of Law:
   Separation of Powers: In autocracies, the separation of powers (executive, legislative, judiciary) is often blurred or dismantled. Support and protect systems that maintain a balance of power, ensuring that one person or group cannot hold unchecked power.
   Protect Institutions: Civil society institutions—like the judiciary, media, and free press—serve as bulwarks against authoritarianism. Work to keep them independent, transparent, and accountable.
   Rights Protection: Advocate for the protection of fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, assembly, and the press. These rights are often the first targets of autocrats seeking to silence opposition.
   
3. Engage in Civic Participation:
   Vote and Get Involved: If you live in a democratic society, voting is a crucial way to resist autocratic tendencies. Stay engaged in the political process, whether that means voting, participating in public discourse, or running for office.
   Advocacy and Protest: In cases where direct participation may be constrained, peaceful protests, advocacy for human rights, and nonviolent resistance can be powerful ways to challenge autocratic systems.
   Organize and Unite: Autocracies often try to divide people by stoking fear or targeting specific groups. Solidarity and collective action help people come together to resist repression and maintain their rights.
   
4. Cultivate Individual Autonomy:
   Mental and Emotional Independence: Autocrats seek to control not just the physical realm but also the minds of the populace. Developing your emotional resilience, fostering independent thought, and practicing mental self-sufficiency can protect you from the manipulation of propaganda and fear-based control.
   Self-Reliance: Avoid over-dependence on any single authority or system. Be self-reliant in ways that make it harder for autocrats to control your life, such as by learning skills for economic independence, critical thinking, and self-sufficiency.
   Preserve Personal Privacy: Protect your personal data and maintain privacy from state surveillance. Autocracies may use surveillance to control and intimidate populations.
   
5. Foster Social and Cultural Resistance:
   Support Free Thought and Expression: In autocratic regimes, the arts, culture, and creative expression are often censored or politicized. Support spaces and movements that encourage free thought, independent art, and non-conformity. This helps to create a culture of resistance to oppressive authority.
   Promote Tolerance and Pluralism: Autocracies often thrive by dividing people along lines of race, religion, or political ideology. By promoting tolerance, diversity, and a culture of inclusivity, you create a more resilient society that is harder for autocrats to control.
   Cultural Memory: Maintain and pass on stories of past resistance, injustice, and liberation. A population that remembers its history and the struggles for freedom can prevent the erosion of those freedoms.
   
6. Build Strong Social Networks:
   Community Support: Autocracies often isolate people from one another, making them more vulnerable to authoritarian control. Build strong, diverse networks of friends, colleagues, and allies who can support each other and amplify resistance efforts.
   International Solidarity: In a globalized world, authoritarian regimes often try to exert influence beyond their borders. Building connections with activists, organizations, and governments that support democracy and human rights can strengthen resistance movements.
   
7. Resist Normalization of Repression:
   Challenge Apathetic Attitudes: Autocrats often rely on public apathy or resignation. Apathy can be dangerous, as it allows authoritarian policies to become normalized. Speak out against any erosion of rights, no matter how small, and challenge complacency in yourself and others.
   Speak Truth to Power: Even in the face of fear or repression, continue to speak out against injustice. History shows that authoritarian regimes can be toppled or diminished when enough people refuse to stay silent.
   
8. Adapt to Changing Conditions:
   Resilience and Flexibility: Autocracies can evolve quickly, and they may become more insidious or covert. If conditions worsen, be ready to adapt and find alternative methods of resistance, from underground movements to digital activism.
   Innovative Tactics: As new technologies (like surveillance tools) and methods of control are implemented, creative and innovative tactics for resistance—such as encryption, decentralized organizing, and using the internet for activism—become essential.
   
9. Know When to Exit or Seek Asylum:
   Recognize the Signs: If the authoritarian regime becomes too oppressive or violent, knowing when to leave for your safety—or seeking asylum in a different country—may be necessary. This is not a defeat, but a way to continue the fight from a safer location.
   Support Refugees and Dissidents: If you are in a position of safety, support others who are fleeing autocratic regimes or facing repression. Offering aid, legal support, or asylum can be a powerful form of resistance.
   
10.  Global Action:
    International Cooperation: Autocracies often act aggressively towards other nations, undermining international peace and stability. International cooperation and the protection of global human rights standards are essential in curbing autocratic expansion. Supporting international efforts to hold autocracies accountable through sanctions, diplomacy, or human rights organizations can help prevent the spread of autocratic rule.
    

Summary
To avoid being enslaved by autocracy, it’s crucial to actively defend individual freedoms, protect democratic institutions, resist complacency, and foster a culture of independence and mutual support. Maintaining a commitment to truth, transparency, and justice—alongside building alliances with others who share these values—can create a formidable resistance against the rise of autocratic rule. It requires a combination of individual vigilance, collective action, and cultural resilience to prevent autocracy from taking hold.

Autocracies succeed when people forget their power or become divided; they fail when people unite in their defense of fundamental rights and freedoms.

To coincide with the exhibition, 81 Questions – a series of 81 hand-signed and embossed screen prints featuring the 81 questions posed by Ai Weiwei – are available exclusively on CIRCA.ART for £500+VAT.

“Each Lego brick pixel represents a person”, says Ai Weiwei, who incorporates the plastic construction toy – a readymade material incorporated into many of his most recent works – into his print design for the first time. The black egalitarian pixel font and embossed baseplate combine technology with artisanal craft to create this thought-provoking and playful reflection on today’s world. Each print in the series of 81 Questions is hand-signed and numbered by the artist in editions of 81.