An AI Tool that promises to make us find common grounds - what should we keep in mind when relying on AI in deliberation and policy making?

Author: Matilde Castleberry

An article by Science introduces a new AI Tool developed by experts in the UK that makes everyone agree, but does that mean it makes everyone better off?

The tool called “Habermas Machine,” is designed to mediate public deliberation and help diverse groups find a common ground on complex social and political issues, something that would greatly benefit modern democracies which seem to be increasingly polarised. Inspired by Jürgen Habermas’s theory of communicative action, this AI facilitates deliberation by generating group statements that reflect shared perspectives once each participant shares its own.

These research initiatives and technological developments in the realm of AI are the centre of our focus and research in KT4D as evidenced by the various Digital democracy labs we have organised around Europe. Learn more and register to our upcoming event in Dublin - where we will explore the challenge of keeping both humans and democracy in the loop in software design - here.

The tool was tested with five thousand UK participants in experiments and a virtual citizens’ assemblies, where it demonstrated the ability to reduce polarisation, incorporate minority views, and promote mutual understanding in a scalable, efficient manner. When participants were asked to rate the summaries produced by the AI and the ones produced by humans, the Tool seemed to be satisfying a larger number of people. This study suggests that AI could actually improve public deliberation on divisive issues. An AI tool like ‘Habermas Machine’ could in fact improve policy making especially in situations in which time is insufficient and a decision must be taken quickly. It can be very complicated for the human mind to choose among many different options especially when it’s under pressure. Therefore, nothing better than computers to help us reorder and compute a large number of variables and opinions coming from a broad and varied population of individuals, into one simple solution.

However the implementation of AI tools, as useful as they can be, falls short in delivering a truly comprehensive policy. The nature of AI - lacking emotional understanding and ethical discernment - is inherently limited in addressing crucial aspects of human society like social dynamix, or cultural aspects, as evidenced by our latest Policy brief entitled Culture's Role in Navigating Technological Change. So what do we need to keep in mind when dealing with AI tools involved in deliberation processes? 

The importance of community building 

The Habermas Machine cannot perform mediation, which should be the funding of deliberation. Humans need to understand the reasons behind the choices that affect their lives but also that these choices affect the ones of others too. To be part of society means to listen to the other members of it, to try and build empathy and understanding towards the people around us. By relying on AI tools we completely exclude a fundamental aspect of social life, exchange - losing our sense of belonging and community - a serious downside of many modern technological innovations.

Rational does not mean Equitable

A very important aspect of policy making is bearing in mind the difference between equality and equity. The idea of equality refers to providing the same resources for everyone regardless of the different needs that each individual has. Equity on the other hand, focuses on fairness by providing targeted support to help everyone reach a more equal outcome. To put it more simply, if we only focused on equality we probably wouldn’t have services like Scholarships, Financial Aid Programs or assistance for people with special needs. Therefore, an outcome like the one provided by a rational computational machine - that appeases the majority and that lacks an understanding of the deepness of the underlying imbalances - does not necessarily imply fairness.

As noted in the article by Science, these tools are not intended to replace human policymaking or deliberation. Instead, they aim to simplify these processes for smoother outcomes. Human oversight is essential and must work alongside AI, ensuring fair and unbiased choices. The KT4D project - which tries to enhance AI tools support in policymaking and deliberation by focusing on civic participation and cultural identity - aligns with the outcomes of this study and calls for a complementary approach that enhances AI tools support, ensuring fair and equitable choices in line with the democratic principles.

Learn more about KT4D’s work and how it fosters civic participation in democracy capitalising on the benefits of knowledge technology.