De Vreese has been university professor of Artificial Intelligence and Society at the UvA since 2021, with a focus on media and democracy, and has held the chair of political communication at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research since 2005. According to him, AI is a system technology that affects every core institution of democracy, from media and political parties to the financial sector and government bodies.

Research by De Vreese into the Dutch municipal elections shows that the perceived use of generative AI in campaigns declined, even though AI was used in the most recent parliamentary elections, particularly by the PVV. A large majority of respondents in his research consider it unwise for politicians to use AI in campaigning.

A central theme in his work is dependency on American technology companies. De Vreese points out that the municipality of Amsterdam relies heavily on Microsoft products, and that the use of American AI models increases that dependency further. Because the American government can influence the availability of certain models and cloud services, their sudden unavailability could bring a large part of daily operations to a halt, he says. He advises the city to explore alternatives and develop scenarios for the failure of critical infrastructure.

Despite the risks, De Vreese does not argue for caution over adoption, but for critical and responsible use of AI by educational institutions, companies and the municipality. He advocates European regulation with clear baseline rules, and education in which the influence of AI becomes a standard part of every degree programme, regardless of field.