This study analyzes the determinants of public support for artificial intelligence (AI) in Spain across three dimensions of governance: administrative tasks, political decision-making, and electoral competition (König, 2023). It also examines citizens’ preferences for political representatives to follow AI recommendations, as well as their views on accelerating or slowing AI adoption in the labor market (Gallego et al., 2022).

Using regression analyses, we assess how individual factors shape these attitudes. A key contribution is the analysis of how democratic preferences relate to support for AI across different domains. We identify four democratic orientations—authoritarian, representative, participatory, and technocratic—and incorporate additional explanatory variables related to attitudes toward AI, including perceived knowledge, optimism, and concern about its labor market effects. We also examine the role of party choice, along with sociodemographic and attitudinal controls such as ideology, political trust, satisfaction with democracy, political efficacy, and political interest.

The study draws on original data from two online surveys conducted in 2023 (n=3,077) and 2025 (n=2,523) using a probabilistic panel. Results are robust across time and dimensions, showing stable explanatory patterns despite the rapid expansion of AI during this period.

Our findings contribute to the literature on AI in politics and public opinion by providing evidence for Spain. They show that citizens’ prior democratic preferences significantly shape attitudes toward AI in governance. Spain represents a relevant case due to its comparable level of AI adoption within Europe and notable support for non-traditional decision-making models, such as participatory and technocratic governance. Despite growing interest in countries like Germany and the UK, empirical evidence on these issues remains limited.