Greece is preparing major constitutional changes, including an amendment requiring that artificial intelligence serve human society, a move that attempts to manage the growing power of private technology platforms. Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis outlined these proposed revisions 1 day ago, stating they were needed to safeguard future generations amidst global concerns about AI’s risks to democratic governance and humanity itself. This state intervention comes as private capital continues to consolidate control over data and AI infrastructure, raising questions about the efficacy of constitutional amendments against entrenched economic power.
Mitsotakis addressed lawmakers from his governing center-right party, asserting, “It’s very important that, in this process of constitutional revision, we take care of the world that will host our children.” He detailed a proposed provision stating: “Artificial intelligence shall serve the freedom of the individual and the prosperity of society, ensuring that risks are mitigated and that the advantages it provides are fully realized.” This liberal framing attempts to project state control over a technology largely developed and owned by private interests, whose primary drive is profit, not societal prosperity.
Private Power, Public Pretext
Constitutional experts in Greece argue that AI must be legally required to serve democracy precisely because major private technology platforms now hold "enough data and power to operate beyond effective public oversight." This acknowledgment highlights the structural reality that capital, through its control of data and technology, has already surpassed the state's capacity for regulation. The proposed constitutional changes, therefore, appear as an attempt by the state to reassert a symbolic authority over a domain where private capital has already established dominance and continues its process of surplus extraction through data accumulation.
Greece has been an eager adopter of AI and modern technology since emerging from a major financial crisis eight years ago. This adoption has included upgrading border surveillance and rebuilding its tax administration, functions that serve to strengthen state control and revenue collection, often facilitated by private technology contractors. A powerful government services platform now manages a wide array of public interactions, from obtaining a divorce to buying tickets for domestic soccer matches, further centralizing data and control within state apparatuses, often built and maintained by private firms.
The State's Role in Managing Capital
Beyond AI, dozens of other constitutional changes are proposed, including expanding postal voting, increasing mandatory schooling from nine to 11 years, and crucially, banning retroactive taxation. The prohibition of retroactive taxation directly serves to protect accumulated wealth from potential future levies, ensuring that capital remains secure from state intervention. The extension of mandatory schooling can be seen as a measure to prepare a more skilled workforce for capital, extending the period of state-managed socialization for future labor. Last month, the government also unveiled plans for a full social media ban for children younger than 16, framed as an effort to pressure the European Union to adopt similar rules, indicating a broader state ambition to regulate digital spaces, which are largely controlled by transnational corporations.
Evripidis Stylianidis, the government’s lead lawmaker on the constitutional revision, stated that the changes would serve as a "long-term guardrail on AI use." He acknowledged to state radio 1 day ago that "Many issues today are defined at the international level," and that "The protection and proper use of artificial intelligence touches all human rights in daily life and is something that must concern us in the constitutional revision." This statement implicitly recognizes the transnational nature of capital and its influence on national policy, suggesting that even constitutional reforms are reactive measures to a global economic order driven by private interests rather than proactive structural changes to address the root causes of power imbalance.