The Future of AI in Government? Democracy is in Need of an Upgrade.

We spend so much of our time and attention on our devices, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the future of political technology will involve a digital government platform. With the right security measures in place it would increase accessibility, the number of people actively voting (at the push of a button in the comfort of your home), reduce the risk of fabricated votes (with digital ID checks linked to your National Insurance number), and encourage political engagement.

But why stop there?

The UK government was a bastion of political innovation in the development of the modern world order, and yet- the model of representative democracy we still use today feels almost archaic when you consider what is possible with modern technology. Before, checking a box once every 5 years was the most efficient way of organising a managable amount of information to best approximate the vox populi, (this is based on a token system invented in ancient Greece!).
But we no longer need to reduce political will to a paper-based binary bi-decadal vote when we’ve got much more sophisticated technological infrastructure that can ingest and assimilate vast quantities of qualitative information.

Bear with me…

It’s not difficult to imagine the digital equivalent of a citizens assembly- where people can voice opinions and suggestions that are then collected, condensed, and summarised to act as an advisory resource to local councils, and to a certain extent- influence state policy.
If the government are keen on supporting the implementation of AI in the UK- It’d be nice to see them lead by example.

There are loads of useful analytics that I might suggest on top of this (but I won’t go on too much…), such as clustering on an ‘opinon vector space’ – mapping out a more proportional representation corresponding to people’s views rather than a purely geographic model. You could also use it to train a model that predicts public response to new policy, (a very useful tool- though I’m sure versions of this already exist).

Essentially, we have the means to create a more transparent and efficient system that helps to hold the government accountable, regardless of what party gets voted in. As we become more connected informatically, societal changes will increase in frequency and magnitude; we need to be able to respond dynamically and efficiently – what better way to navigate the oncoming AI revolution and ensure the most responsible, effective, and ethical applications than to simply ask people. Politics should operate as a mind of the people. A sound mind involves connective interplay between both hemispheres- left and right.

Of course, the most common rebuke to such an idea is that “People don’t always know what’s good for their country” – but they’ll have a pretty good idea of what isn’t good for them as individuals, and have a pretty good ground-level view of what’s needed in terms of local development. The utility of such a system is in it’s power to inform the experts making the decisions- making the government aware of and accountable to the needs of the people.
Improvements at a local level soon add up, and are the basis for the healthy running of a whole country.
Such an approach might also open the door to more populist approaches to politics via media influence- but that line of thought should bring to light those existing forces already at work (without the transparency), as well as the need for more resources in education and critical thinking. In the paraphrased words of Winston Churchill:

“Democracy is the worst form of government… Except for everything else.”