Building on the OECD paper Exploring New Frontiers of Citizen Participation in the Policy Cycle (2024[85]), case studies, and interviews with experts1, emerging technologies (AI, VR/AR and Blockchain) can be beneficial for citizen participation by supporting three lines of action:
1) Emerging technologies can help lower barriers to make citizen participation more inclusive by reducing language and knowledge barriers, making participation more interactive and appealing, and expanding the opportunities for participation. Improving the accessibility of citizen participation processes means providing a broader and more diverse public with the opportunities and the tools to meaningfully engage in collective decisions with qualitative contributions. For example, artificial intelligence can lower barriers by supporting automatic translation and by helping participants navigate technical or jargon language, allowing citizens to participate in their native language and to better understand the policy issues at stake. In addition, AI moderation can enable massive online conversations creating opportunities for more people to participate in deliberative and participatory processes while preserving the quality of the discussions. Virtual realities can create interactive and more engaging settings helping citizens better articulate their ideas and suggestions.
2) Emerging technologies can raise capacities among civil servants to deliver meaningful participation by supporting the back-office of participatory and deliberative processes. Artificial intelligence has demonstrated its potential to support governments in processing large amounts of inputs received in consultation and deliberative processes and AI-powered moderation which complemented with human skills can multiply public sector’s capacities to run deliberative processes.
3) Emerging technologies can increase accountability and further demonstrate the impact of participation by enabling new channels to access information and communicate results, amplifying the results of processes to the broader public and the media, and shielding processes from undue influence. Chatbots and GenAI can help issue targeted communication on processes and their outcomes and support public scrutiny on the follow-up and implementation of citizens’ inputs. Blockchain technologies can reduce intermediaries, ensure processes documentation and enable safer voting mechanisms that are transparent and accountable.
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and virtual reality offer significant benefits to help address existing challenges in citizen participation and deliberation. However, their adoption should be approached with caution and guided by the principle that these tools must address existing challenges rather than introduce new ones. Blockchain, while often lauded for its potential to secure and decentralize participation, has yet to demonstrate substantial real-world impact in the context of participation. Similarly, virtual reality, despite its potential to create immersive and engaging platforms for participatory experiences, remains in an exploratory phase with limited practical applications to date.
AI stands out as a particularly promising tool for strengthening democracy due to its potential to enhance the citizen-government relationship. This technology has already shown tangible benefits in improving democratic processes by facilitating more efficient analysis of large datasets, enabling more personalised citizen participation, and supporting informed decision-making. AI can transform how citizens access and use public information, how governments listen and communicate with their populations, and how individuals engage and interact with public authorities. Building on the insights of this paper and the forthcoming OECD Flagship Report on Governing with AI, the OECD will further explore the potential of AI to support democratic processes in a dedicated Policy Paper, as part of a collaboration with the the Bertelsmann Stiftung. Nevertheless, it is crucial that AI be implemented ethically and responsibly, with careful attention to issues such as privacy, transparency, bias, the protection of civic space, and accountability.
Governments can deploy different guardrails to mitigate the associated risks and ensure that emerging technologies positively impact participatory and deliberative processes. Considering the guardrails at the intersection between emerging technologies and citizen participation, public authorities should commit to ensuring transparency, accountability, and contestability by designing dedicated guidelines, tools, and standards that promote open-source and scrutiny. Inclusion and equality are highlighted through the provision of analogue alternatives and investments in digital skills for governments and society at large. The paper proposes experimentation and innovation by supporting research and development both within and outside governments and encouraging the use of emerging technologies in participatory processes. It stresses the need to protect human rights and civic freedoms by establishing complaint mechanisms and ethical guidelines to guide the deployment of these technologies. Collaboration and innovation ecosystems should be nurtured by committing to open-source practices and building networks to foster learning and peer-to-peer support. Additionally, governments are urged to provide adequate resources for the development, adoption, and scaling of emerging technologies through skill-building, sustainable funding, and investments in digital public infrastructure. Finally, the public must be actively involved in the design, regulation, and governance of emerging technologies, including before deployment, to build trust and ensure their democratic development.