Deliberating on AI and with AI: analysing civic participation in the platform society

Over the last few years, the emergence of the Internet of Things and the increasingly advanced development of what we might call a true “algorithm culture” have highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence in everyday life. At the same time, the development of digital platforms and the affirmation of the process of the "platformisation" of society have accompanied both the radical transformation of the public sphere and the structural mutation of representative democracy. In this perspective, the forms of citizen participation and, more generally, the experiences of democratic innovation have been confronted with the need to adopt technological tools capable of increasing the quality of democracy, improving deliberative processes, and encouraging a wider participation of citizens. The initial successes of online platforms for democratic participation and deliberation have been followed by moments of difficulty, especially in the processes of the “scaling up” of participation. In this situation, the adoption of artificial intelligence appeared to be a possibility for the quantitative (and potentially also qualitative) growth of civic participation. At the same time, artificial intelligence has entered both essential services (such as health and care) and education processes and, finally, the most advanced forms of social innovation. Several issues or aspects have thus emerged that require attention: from the relationship between solidarity and artificial intelligence to the need to make AI compatible with policies in favor of diversity and inclusion; from the egalitarian development of artificial intelligence to its ecological sustainability; from the interrelationship between artificial intelligence and respect for privacy to the need to adopt a democratic principle in the choice and control of algorithms. This last aspect immediately appeared to be very delicate: artificial intelligence, in fact, should be framed in an ethical and responsible dimension, as noted by the working group led by the Université de Montreal (Responsible Artificial Intelligence: a guide for deliberation). Deliberating on Artificial Intelligence and deliberating with Artificial Intelligence are two distinct processes but which show clear signs of convergence. This paper analyses the policies of development in the use of artificial intelligence in Italy, adopting a double access key: a) on the one hand, the participatory processes (also of private companies) on the use of artificial intelligence have been studied; b) on the other hand, the participatory processes which have made use (also in a partial and marginal way) of tools and/or logic of artificial intelligence have been also put under investigation. The policies and processes were studied in the light of the paradigm of "responsible artificial intelligence" (The Montréal Declaration for a Responsible Development of AI, 2018). A specific focus was devoted to the presence of elements related to the themes of diversity, inclusion, and gender equality, also in the light of their potential impact on the objectives of the 2030 Agenda.