For What AI Could Do to Democracies, Look to the Petrostates

Argument For What AI Could Do to Democracies, Look to the Petrostates Societies will become richer, but history suggests that wealth may not be equally distributed. April 30, 2026, 12:01 AM By Cullen Hendrix, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. An aerial photo shows Doha in the booming petrostate of Qatar. An aerial photo shows Doha in the booming petrostate of Qatar on April 26, 2021. Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images High, especially youth, unemployment. Limited incentives to invest in education or health. Rule by a powerful, unaccountable elite. This is current petrostate reality. It could also be our AI future. High, especially youth, unemployment. Limited incentives to invest in education or health.

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