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Dear MIT GOV/LAB Community,
As another semester gears up on MIT campus, we have a lot on our minds. At the center is the convergence of technology and governance, and how artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing the game.
AI for good governance: frameworks & experiments
We are excited for the release of The Digitalist Papers, hosted by Stanford Digital Economy Lab & Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, including a chapter on “Rediscovering the Pleasures of Pluralism: The Potential of Digitally Mediated Civic Participation” co-authored by MIT Professors Lily L. Tsai and Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland. The piece explores how AI can foster new forms of civic engagement and direct democracy at both local and national levels. The authors propose designing digital infrastructure to enable collective decision-making and reduce polarization by encouraging interactions across diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
This work builds on our MIT impact paper Generative AI for Pro-Democracy Platforms along with colleagues at the MIT Media Lab and Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI. The paper presents a framework to help policymakers, technologists, and the public assess potential opportunities and risks when incorporating generative AI into online platforms for discussion and deliberation in order to strengthen democratic practices and help democratic governments make more effective and responsive policy decisions. Check out this Forbes piece “Generative AI And Our Political Life” on what AI can do in the field of public discourse featuring Lily L. Tsai and Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland. As a next step, our MIT-Stanford research team is working on experiments that test out the role of AI in political participation and online platforms.
As part of our continual learning on this topic, we are also spearheading a Generative AI and Democracy reading group led by our Director of Research Lula Chen and includes undergraduate students from MIT, HBUCs, and minority service institutions. The reading group, hosted by MIT’s Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) and MIT Institute Community & Equity Office, focuses on how generative AI can be used to improve democracy in a socially and ethically responsible way. Students will have an opportunity to work on a group project together and present their findings at a symposium at the end of the academic year.
Technology & governance in the Global South
Our research on technology and governance is evolving and we are now looking at gaps in how AI policy and implementation by governments is evolving in the Global South. Not convinced this is an issue? Check out our recent blog on “Can Trustworthy AI Improve Governance and Trust?” that talks about the explosion of AI use in government, public opinion on these issues, and what questions we need to be asking moving forward.
This trajectory builds on research with Busara examining how to build trust in government in a digital world. In a recent project, Busara and MIT GOV/LAB conducted an online survey to investigate how the government might be able to build trust when collaborating on service delivery with a private partner. We also published a Q&A with Busara VP and practitioner-in-residence Gideon Too that looks at the recent political protests in Kenya and the central role of technology and emergence of AI tools.
Getting ahead of the curve
This workstream is a continuation of MIT GOV/LAB practitioner-in-residence Luke Jordan’s preliminary research agenda on the future of AI in governance, that was almost too ahead of the curve. Fast forward and the integration of AI tools in government has progressed faster than regulators and civil society can keep up. Check out Luke’s most recent policy paper on “AI and the Future of Government: Unexpected Effects and Critical Challenges.”
Lastly, a hearty congratulations to our graduate student fellows who have received academic placements including: Nicole Wilson (Northwestern); Jasmine English (Reed); and, Elizabeth Parker-Magyar (Yale)!
It’s been a busy start to the semester and we are excited to hear from you. Please be in touch!
Some additional updates below from work with collaborators and research affiliates:
- Unpacking Political Protest: Q&A with Busara VP Gideon Too on Kenya’s #RejectFinanceBill2024. He explains why this is a watershed moment for the country’s democracy, and what behavioral science can add to our understanding of political protest and citizen engagement.
- MIT News on research published in Frontiers in Global Women’s Health. Researchers study differences in attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccines between women and men in Uganda, DRC, Senegal and Nigeria.
- Graduate student research highlight. Clarifying the Links between WhatsApp and Political Behavior in India. A blog by graduate student fellow and seed grant recipient Eyal Hanfling.
- Governance Innovation Case Study Series. In case you missed it, we published a series of case studies and a podcast on governance innovation in the Global South.
- Research study supported by MIT GOV/LAB grant. “Comparing religious and secular interventions to increase young adult political participation: Evidence from WhatsApp-based civic education courses in Zambia.”
Artwork: The Digitalist Papers.