Scientific progress is vital for solving global challenges, yet we know too little about how political systems affect research – even though authoritarian regimes such as China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia have massively increased their investments in science in recent decades and are increasingly marking the global scientific frontier.
AutoKnow investigates the link between authoritarian rule and scientific knowledge production. The project studies both traditional dictatorships and countries where democracy is in decline
Our core question is: How is science shaped by authoritarian rule? We investigate when authorities attack scientists, and whether political pressure alters fundamental scientific norms such as openness and critical thinking.
Using Artificial Intelligence, the project will analyze millions of scientific publications from the period 1950–2025. This allows us to uncover deeper changes in research content, such as political bias, censorship, and a lack of novelty. The goal is to understand potential threats from governing systems to protect scientific progress in the future.
