COVIDYSTOPIA – September 21, 2026 (Luttada, India)
It was a strange day for both the ruling party and the opposition. The Luttada Council election results had left everyone open-mouthed when LocalGovt-Cicero, an AI candidate, was announced as the winner by a formidable margin.
All this had started off with a controversial judgement by the Court of Justice that a machine can be a legal person. Soon after, a leading IT employee trade union brought this to the attention of Cicero-AI Industries. The next election scheduled at that time was for a by-poll in an obscure ward called Luttada in South India.
The newspaper cartoonists had a field day when LocalGovt-Cicero filed its nomination as a candidate. The AI had no campaign, no home visits or electioneering prima facie. It was looked upon as a publicity stunt or a mockery of democracy.
When the AI was sworn in as the new Councillor of Luttada, it was a turning point for mankind, and machinekind.
(Disclaimer – this is fiction, exploring the what-ifs, post pandemic. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is coincidental!)