{"id":573626,"date":"2023-05-08T19:15:52","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T16:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ai-supported-civic-tech-on-the-rise\/"},"modified":"2023-05-08T19:15:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T16:15:52","slug":"ai-supported-civic-tech-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ai-supported-civic-tech-on-the-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"#AI-supported civic tech on the rise"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2f20c515a6e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2f20c515a6e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ai-supported-civic-tech-on-the-rise\/#Not_without_controversy\" >Not without controversy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ai-supported-civic-tech-on-the-rise\/#Inviting_AI_into_collective_decision_making\" >Inviting AI into collective decision making<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ai-supported-civic-tech-on-the-rise\/#Gaining_the_trust_of_the_citizen\" >Gaining the trust of the citizen<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a study by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) released late last week, digital technologies will become an increasing factor in European democracy in the coming decade. This is perhaps not entirely surprising; after all, the pandemic shifted much of our lives into the digital realm, why shouldn\u2019t our political participation?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idea.int\/sites\/default\/files\/publications\/democracy-technologies-in-europe.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, based on interviews with more than 50 government and industry representatives, finds that the market for online participation and deliberation in Europe is expected to grow to \u20ac300mn in the next five years, whereas the market for e-voting will grow to \u20ac500mn. The respondents also state that there is a \u201cwindow of opportunity\u201d for European providers of democracy <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> to expand beyond Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Authors of the report further believe that digital democracy technology can support outreach to demographics that may otherwise be difficult to reach, such as youth and immigrant communities. This also includes broader populations under difficult circumstances, such as those brought on by the pandemic and Russia\u2019s war of aggression against Ukraine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn case of war, electronic democracy tools have to be even stronger. Because we understand we have to live for the society and give citizens tools,\u201d said Oleg Polovynko, Director of IT at Kyiv Digital, City Council of Kyiv, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one of the speakers at the TNW Conference 2023<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Not_without_controversy\"><\/span>Not without controversy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital democracy refers to the use of digital technologies and platforms to enhance democratic processes and increase citizens\u2019 participation in government decision-making. This is also referred to as civic tech (not to be confused with govtech, which focuses on technologies that help governments perform their functions more efficiently). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples of tools include online petitions, open data portals, and participatory budgeting systems, where citizens come together to discuss community needs and priorities and then allocate public funds accordingly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a best-case scenario, it has the potential to reinvigorate democracy by allowing citizens to participate from anywhere at any time. In a worst-case scenario, it could be used for disinformation or just plain good old online toxic behaviour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Furthermore, the discussion of a potential \u2018digital divide \u2013 who will benefit and who will be excluded due to access or lack thereof to technology \u2013 is not one that is easily settled.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Inviting_AI_into_collective_decision_making\"><\/span>Inviting AI into collective decision making<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IDEA states that there are more than 100 vendors in Europe in the online participation, deliberation and voting sector, most of whom are active on a national level. The majority of those operating internationally are startups with between 10 and 60 employees, but expanding quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these democracy technology platforms have already begun taking advantage of the recent step-change developments in artificial intelligence to introduce new features or enhance existing ones.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe foresee a future where citizens and AI collaboratively engage with governments to address intricate <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> issues by merging collective intelligence with artificial intelligence,\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Robert Bjarnason, co-founder and President of Citizens.is tells TNW.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"c-richText__pullQuote\">\n<div class=\"c-richText__pullQuoteGradient\">\n<p class=\"c-richText__pullQuoteQuote\"> \u201c<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We advocate for a model in which citizens work alongside powerful AI systems to help shape policy, rather than allowing centralised government AI models to exert excessive influence.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following the collapse of Icelandic banks in 2008, distrust of politicians was at an all-time high in the Nordic island nation. Together with a fellow programmer, Gunnar Gr\u00edmsson, Bjarnasson created a software platform called Your Priorities that allows citizens to suggest laws and policies that can then be up- or down-voted by other users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just before local elections in 2010, the open-source software was used to set up the Better Reykjavik portal. Five years later, a poll on the site managed to name a street in the Icelandic capital after Darth Vader (well, his Icelandic moniker of Svarth\u00f6f\u00f0i, or Black-cape, which already <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/icelandmag.is\/article\/reykjavik-names-a-street-after-darth-vader-star-wars\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fitted well with the names of the streets in the area<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, there have been much \u2018weightier\u2019 decisions influenced by the platform, such as crowdsourcing ideas on how to prioritise the City\u2019s educational objectives. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus far, over 70,000 of the capital\u2019s inhabitants have engaged with Better Reykjavik. Pretty impressive for a population of 120,000. Furthermore, Your Priorities has been trialled in Malta, Norway, Scotland, and Estonia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Baltic tech-forward nation has adopted several laws suggested through the platform, which features a unique debating system, crowdsourcing of content and prioritisation, a \u2018toxicity sensor\u2019 to alert admins about potentially abusive content \u2013 and extensive use of AI. In fact, Citizens.is recently entered into collaboration with OpenAI, and has deployed GPT-4 for its AI assistant \u2013 in Icelandic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">GPT-4 now empowers digital democracy and collective intelligence in Iceland \ud83e\udd16\u2764\ufe0f Thnx to a collaboration btw <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OpenAI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@OpenAI<\/a>, the government, and Mi\u00f0eind, we\u2019re launching our AI assistant in Icelandic. Thanks <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sama?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@sama<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gdb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@gdb<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vthorsteinsson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@vthorsteinsson<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cohere?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cohere<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LangChain?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@langchain<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/weaviate_io?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@weaviate_io<\/a> &amp; <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/buildWithLit?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@buildWithLit<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LNxAAFe2nf\">pic.twitter.com\/LNxAAFe2nf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Citizens Foundation (@CitizensFNDN) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CitizensFNDN\/status\/1637585368110317568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t worry if the language barrier felt a little steep. Citizens.is has been kind enough to provide TNW with a screenshot of the company\u2019s AI assistant in action from a project in Oakland, California.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1396218 js-lazy\" alt=\"Screenshot of OpenAI chatbot conversation\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1121\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image.png 1600w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-280x196.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-193x135.png 193w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-385x270.png 385w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-1536x1076.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-796x558.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-1592x1115.png 1592w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fartificial-intelligence%2F2023%2F05%2F08%2Frevitalising-european-democracy-ai-supported-civic-tech-rise%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Credit: Citizens.is\" data-title=\"Share Credit: Citizens.is on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Credit: Citizens.is on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Credit: Citizens.is<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1396218\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of OpenAI chatbot conversation\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image.png 1600w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-280x196.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-193x135.png 193w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-385x270.png 385w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-1536x1076.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-796x558.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/image-1592x1115.png 1592w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other examples of civic tech focused companies in Europe include Belgium-founded scaleup CitizenLab, which now works with more than 300 local governments and organisations across 18 countries, and Berlin-based non-profit Liquid Democracy. Liquid\u2019s open source deliberation and collaborative decision-making Adhocracy+ software platform also helps facilitate face-to-face meetings throughout the timeline of participation projects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Gaining_the_trust_of_the_citizen\"><\/span>Gaining the trust of the citizen<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main product trends identified in the IDEA study are: artificial intelligence, voting, and administration and reporting. Meanwhile, it also found that it is important to address issues around inclusiveness, data usage, accountability and transparency, and to develop security standards for end-to-end verified voting. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One solution proposed is the introduction of a Europe-wide quality trust mark for democracy technologies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf a citizen can trust the banking <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lication to make transactions, then equivalently our service can be trusted to make the citizen\u2019s voice heard,\u201d stated Nicholas Tsounis, CEO of online voting platform Electobox. \u201cWe want people to trust this application because we know that it is there for them to protect the right to speak and vote.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/revitalising-european-democracy-ai-supported-civic-tech-rise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to a study by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) released late last week, digital technologies will become an increasing factor in European democracy in the coming decade. This is perhaps not entirely surprising; after all, the pandemic shifted much of our lives into the digital realm, why shouldn\u2019t our political&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":573627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/05\/a_computer_screen_representing_digital_democracy_tec_0e9b60eb-6beb-45a0-9211-4303a15e8ba5-e1683559702670.jpg&signature=2a027a994ffe6ad7313bc2cf340616e7","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-573626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}