Title page 1

Contents 6

Foreword 4

Acknowledgements 5

Executive summary 8

1. Introduction: Citizen participation in the age of artificial intelligence 11

Citizen participation for more effective policies and greater public trust 12

Digital technologies for citizen participation 13

The potential of AI tools for participation 14

References 17

Notes 18

2. Opportunities for AI tools to improve and enhance citizen participation in policymaking 19

Challenges to achieving effective citizen participation 20

Setting the scope: Opportunities of AI to address citizen participation challenges 22

A typology of AI tools to improve and enhance citizen participation 22

Emerging trends 34

References 41

Notes 52

3. Mapping the risks and challenges of using AI for citizen participation 53

Risks and challenges of using AI for citizen participation 54

Ethical risks 55

Operational risks 56

Exclusion risks 57

Public resistance risks 57

Risks of inaction 58

Implementation challenges 58

References 60

4. What can governments do? The road to fit-for-purpose AI tools for citizen participation 64

Addressing risks and challenges to take advantage of AI opportunities for citizen participation 65

Citizens as partners in shaping the development, use and regulation of AI-systems 69

References 72

Notes 74

5. Conclusions 75

Governments are using AI tools to improve citizen participation processes 75

Governments can act to steer the trustworthy adoption of AI while continuing to improve citizen participation 75

Table 1.1. Levels of citizen participation in policymaking 12

Table 2.1. Typology of AI tools for citizen participation: Types of applications, opportunities for front and back-office activities, and potential... 24

Table 4.1. Instilling guardrails and enablers to promote trustworthy AI in participation 67

Figure 2.1. Typology of AI tools for citizen participation 24

Figure 2.2. Occurrences of AI tools for participation by application 34

Figure 2.3. AI-enhanced representative deliberative processes 36

Figure 4.1. OECD Framework for Trustworthy AI in Government 65

Boxes 7

Box 1.1. The Forum Against Fakes in Germany 13

Box 1.2. The evolution of AI 14

Box 2.1. Front-office and back-office of government 21

Box 2.2. AI-powered sense-making tools to analyse qualitative inputs in citizen participation processes 27

Box 2.3. AI-powered sense-making tools to improve participants' experience 28

Box 2.4. AI chatbots to assist citizens in participation processes 30

Box 2.5. AI content moderation 31

Box 2.6. AI-powered facilitation 32

Box 2.7. Polis for large-scale consultations 33

Box 2.8. Consult by iAI UK: Improving public consultations 35

Box 2.9. AI-enhanced representative deliberative processes 36

Box 3.1. AI futures priority risks 54

Box 4.1. Improving civic participation with emerging technologies in the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain 70

Box 4.2. Internet participatory governance 71