Satisfaction with democracy has declined in recent years in high-income nations

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Pew Research Center: “..Since 2017, we’ve regularly asked people in 12 economically advanced democracies how satisfied they are with the state of their democracy. Overall, satisfaction declined in these countries between 2017 and 2019 before bouncing back in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trend chart over time showing that satisfaction with democracy across 12 high-income, democratic countries is down in recent years

Since 2021, however, people in these nations have become more frustrated with their democracies. A median of 49% across these 12 nations were satisfied with the way their democracy was working in 2021; today, just 36% hold this view. (The 2024 survey was conducted before the European Parliament elections in June.)

Trend chart over time showing declines in satisfaction with democracy since 2021 across 9 countries

Satisfaction is lower today than it was in 2021 in nine of the 12 nations where we have asked the question consistently. This includes six countries where satisfaction has dropped by double digits: Canada, Germany, Greece, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Satisfaction has not increased in any of the 12 countries surveyed…(More)”

AI, data governance and privacy

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

OECD Report: “Recent AI technological advances, particularly the rise of generative AI, have raised many data governance and privacy questions. However, AI and privacy policy communities often address these issues independently, with approaches that vary between jurisdictions and legal systems. These silos can generate misunderstandings, add complexities in regulatory compliance and enforcement, and prevent capitalising on commonalities between national frameworks. This report focuses on the privacy risks and opportunities stemming from recent AI developments. It maps the principles set in the OECD Privacy Guidelines to the OECD AI Principles, takes stock of national and regional initiatives, and suggests potential areas for collaboration. The report supports the implementation of the OECD Privacy Guidelines alongside the OECD AI Principles. By advocating for international co-operation, the report aims to guide the development of AI systems that respect and support privacy…(More)”.

Unlocking the Potential of Data: Innovative Policies for Responsible Data Reuse and Addressing Data Asymmetries

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Testimony by Stefaan Verhulst to the German Bundestag: “Let me begin by highlighting the potential of data when used and reused responsibly. Although we hear much about the risks of using data–and many of the fears are indeed justified–it’s also important to keep in mind the very real possibilities that data offers for advancing the public good.

We live in a datafied world, characterized by an unprecedented supply–even glut–of data. In this world, data has become a critical resource for informing policy and decision-making processes.  When properly analyzed and utilized, data can play a critical role in helping policymakers–and other stakeholders–address a range of critical problems, in sectors as diverse as public health, climate, innovation and economic development, combating urban decay–and much more.

Sometimes this data is readily available. Most of the time it is not. One of the areas with the biggest potential–yet also significant challenges–is data reuse – data already collected for one purpose using it for another.  Data reuse can provide invaluable insights into current phenomena, help us understand the causes of emerging trends, and guide us in developing effective solutions to pressing challenges. Moreover, analysis from data re-use can serve as a powerful tool for anticipating future developments and prescribing targeted interventions…

Despite the very potential of data and data reuse, it’s undeniable we face significant challenges in realizing data’s full societal value.

One of the primary obstacles is a lack of access to high-quality, timely data by the public sector,  civil society, and other groups that are working toward the public good. 

We live in a paradoxical situation today, marked both by the availability of an unprecedented amount of data, but also by unprecedented asymmetries in access to that data for reuse in the public interest. 

I believe that the growing asymmetries between those who have data (often from the private sector) and those who are best positioned to use it for the public good, represents one of the major challenges of our era. 

Data policy to date has primarily focused on preventing the misuse of data, often for valid reasons as mentioned earlier. However, this approach has inadvertently overlooked the missed uses of data – the opportunities we fail to capitalize on due to overly restrictive policies or lack of innovative frameworks for data sharing and utilization…

Given these challenges, what can policymakers do? What steps can policymakers such as yourselves – and other stakeholders, from the private sector, academia and civil society – take to help maximize the potential of our datafied society and economy, and to ensure that the benefits of our data age are maximized in as equitable and inclusive a manner as possible?..(More)” (German) (See also: Experten: Innovative Ansätze in der Datenpolitik nötig).

Illuminating Lived Experience

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Lab Note from the Sydney Policy Lab: “The lived experiences of people involved in care – from informal and formal care workers to the people they support – is foundational to the Australia Cares project. To learn from the ways people with lived experience are included in co-design and research methods, the Sydney Policy Lab initiated reflective research that has resulted in a Lab Note on Illuminating Lived Experience (pdf, 1MB).

Through a series of interviews, dialogues and collaborative writing processes, co-authors explored tensions between different approaches and core concepts underpinning lived experience methods and shared examples of those methods in practice.

Illuminating Lived Experience poses questions that may help guide researchers and policymakers seeking to engage people with lived experience and three core principles we believe are required for such engagements.

The Lab Note aims to encourage researchers to be creative in the ways co-design and lived experience are approached while being true to the critical roots of participatory methodologies. Rather than prescribing methods, the principles and practices developed are offered as a guide – a starting point for play…(More)”

The 4M Roadmap: A Higher Road to Profitability by Using Big Data for Social Good

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Report by Brennan Lake: “As the private sector faces conflicting pressures to either embrace or shun socially responsible practices, companies with privately held big-data assets must decide whether to share access to their data for public good. While some managers object to data sharing over concerns of privacy and product cannibalization, others launch well intentioned yet short-lived CSR projects that fail to deliver on lofty goals.

By embedding Shared-Value principles into ‘Data-for-Good’ programs, data-rich firms can launch responsible data-sharing initiatives that minimize risk, deliver sustained impact, and improve overall competitiveness in the process.

The 4M Roadmap by Brennan Lake, a Big-Data and Social Impact professional, guides managers to adopt a ‘Data-for-Good’ model that emphasizes four key pillars of value-creation: Mission, Messaging, Methods, and Monetization. Through deep analysis and private-sector case studies, The 4M Roadmap demonstrates how companies can engage in responsible data sharing to benefit society and business alike…(More)”.

Preparing Researchers for an Era of Freer Information

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Peter W.B. Phillips: “If you Google my name along with “Monsanto,” you will find a series of allegations from 2013 that my scholarly work at the University of Saskatchewan, focused on technological change in the global food system, had been unduly influenced by corporations. The allegations made use of seven freedom of information (FOI) requests. Although leadership at my university determined that my publications were consistent with university policy, the ensuing media attention, I feel, has led some colleagues, students, and partners to distance themselves to avoid being implicated by association.

In the years since, I’ve realized that my experience is not unique. I have communicated with other academics who have experienced similar FOI requests related to genetically modified organisms in the United States, Canada, England, Netherlands, and Brazil. And my field is not the only one affected: a 2015 Union of Concerned Scientists report documented requests in multiple states and disciplines—from history to climate science to epidemiology—as well as across ideologies. In the University of California system alone, researchers have received open records requests related to research on the health effects of toxic chemicals, the safety of abortions performed by clinicians rather than doctors, and the green energy production infrastructure. These requests are made possible by laws that permit anyone, for any reason, to gain access to public agencies’ records.

These open records campaigns, which are conducted by individuals and groups across the political spectrum, arise in part from the confluence of two unrelated phenomena: the changing nature of academic research toward more translational, interdisciplinary, and/or team-based investigations and the push for more transparency in taxpayer-funded institutions. Neither phenomenon is inherently negative; in fact, there are strong advantages for science and society in both trends. But problems arise when scholars are caught between them—affecting the individuals involved and potentially influencing the ongoing conduct of research…(More)”

Exploring Visitor Density Trends in Rest Areas Through Google Maps Data and Data Mining

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Marita Prasetyani, R. Rizal Isnanto and Catur Edi Widodo: “Rest areas play a vital role in ensuring the safety and comfort of travelers. This study examines the visitor density at the toll and non-toll rest areas using data mining techniques applied to Google Maps Places data. By utilizing extensive information from Google Maps, the research aims to uncover patterns and trends in visitor behavior and pinpoint peak usage times. The findings can guide improved planning and management of rest areas, thereby enhancing the overall travel experience for road users and further research to determine the location of the new rest area.Understanding patterns or trends in visitor density at rest areas involves analyzing the time of day, location, and other factors influencing the density level. Understanding these trends can provide essential insights for rest area management, infrastructure planning, and the establishment of new rest areas.Data from Google Maps provides an invaluable source of real-time and historical information, enabling accurate and in-depth analysis of visitor behavior.Data mining helps identify relationships not immediately apparent in the data, providing a deeper understanding and supporting data-driven decision-making…(More)”.

Top 10 Emerging Technologies to Address Global Challenges

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World Economic Forum: “The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2024 are:

  • 1. AI for scientific discovery: While artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in research for many years, advances in deep learning, generative AI and foundation models are revolutionizing the scientific discovery process. AI will enable researchers to make unprecedented connections and advancements in understanding diseases, proposing new materials, and enhancing knowledge of the human body and mind​​.
  • 2. Privacy-enhancing technologies: Protecting personal privacy while providing new opportunities for global data sharing and collaboration, “synthetic data” is set to transform how information is handled with powerful applications in health-related research.
  • 3. Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces: These innovative surfaces turn ordinary walls and surfaces into intelligent components for wireless communication while enhancing energy efficiency in wireless networks. They hold promise for numerous applications, from smart factories to vehicular networks​​.
  • 4. High-altitude platform stations: Using aircraft, blimps and balloons, these systems can extend mobile network access to remote regions, helping bridge the digital divide for over 2.6 billion people worldwide​​.
  • 5. Integrated sensing and communication: The advent of 6G networks facilitates simultaneous data collection (sensing) and transmission (communication). This enables environmental monitoring systems that help in smart agriculture, environmental conservation and urban planning. Integrated sensing and communication devices also promise to reduce energy and silicon consumption.
  • 6. Immersive technology for the built world: Combining computing power with virtual and augmented reality, these technologies promise rapid improvements in infrastructure and daily systems​. This technology allows designers and construction professionals to check for correspondence between physical and digital models, ensuring accuracy and safety and advancing sustainability.
  • 7. Elastocalorics: As global temperatures rise, the need for cooling solutions is set to soar. Offering higher efficiency and lower energy use, elastocalorics release and absorb heat under mechanical stress, presenting a sustainable alternative to current technologies.
  • 8. Carbon-capturing microbes: Engineered organisms convert emissions into valuable products like biofuels, providing a promising approach to mitigating climate change.
  • 9. Alternative livestock feeds: protein feeds for livestock sourced from single-cell proteins, algae and food waste could offer a sustainable solution for the agricultural industry.
  • 10. Genomics for transplants: The successful implantation of genetically engineered organs into a human marks a significant advancement in healthcare, offering hope to millions awaiting transplants​​…(More)”.

Mission Driven Bureaucrats: Empowering People To Help Government Do Better

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Book by Dan Honig: “…argues that the performance of our governments can be transformed by managing bureaucrats for their empowerment rather than for compliance. Aimed at public sector workers, leaders, academics, and citizens alike, it contends that public sectors too often rely on a managerial approach that seeks to tightly monitor and control employees, and thus demotivates and repels the mission-motivated. The book suggests that better performance can in many cases come from a more empowerment-oriented managerial approach—which allows autonomy, cultivates feelings of competence, and creates connection to peers and purpose—which allows the mission-motivated to thrive. Arguing against conventional wisdom, the volume argues that compliance often thwarts, rather than enhances, public value—and that we can often get less corruption and malfeasance with less monitoring. It provides a handbook of strategies for managers to introduce empowerment-oriented strategies into their agency. It also describes what everyday citizens can do to support the empowerment of bureaucrats in their governments. Interspersed throughout this book are featured profiles of real-life Mission Driven Bureaucrats, who exemplify the dedication and motivation that is typical of many civil servants. Drawing on original empirical data from a number of countries and the prior work of other scholars from around the globe, the volume argues that empowerment-oriented management and how to cultivate, support, attract, and retain Mission Driven Bureaucrats should have a larger place in our thinking and practice…(More)”.

Governance in silico: Experimental sandbox for policymaking over AI Agents

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Denisa Reshef Keraa, Eilat Navonb and Galit Well: “The concept of ‘governance in silico’ summarizes and questions the various design and policy experiments with synthetic data and content in public policy, such as synthetic data simulations, AI agents, and digital twins. While it acknowledges the risks of AI-generated hallucinations, errors, and biases, often reflected in the parameters and weights of the ML models, it focuses on the prompts. Prompts enable stakeholder negotiation and representation of diverse agendas and perspectives that support experimental and inclusive policymaking. To explore the prompts’ engagement qualities, we conducted a pilot study on co-designing AI agents for negotiating contested aspects of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act). The experiments highlight the value of an ‘exploratory sandbox’ approach, which fosters political agency through direct representation over AI agent simulations. We conclude that such ‘governance in silico’ exploratory approach enhances public consultation and engagement and presents a valuable alternative to the frequently overstated promises of evidence-based policy…(More)”.