Government at a Glance 2025

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

OECD Report: “Governments face a highly complex operating environment marked by major demographic, environmental, and digital shifts, alongside low trust and constrained fiscal space. 

Responding effectively means concentrating efforts on three fronts: Enhancing individuals’ sense of dignity in their interactions with government, restoring a sense of security amid rapid societal and economic changes, and improving government efficiency and effectiveness to help boost productivity in the economy, while restoring public finances. These priorities converge in the governance of the green transition.

Government at a Glance 2025 offers evidence-based tools to tackle these long-term challenges…

Governments are not yet making the most of digital tools and data to improve effectiveness and efficiency

Data, digital tools and AI all offer the prospect of efficiency gains. OECD countries score, on average, 0.61 on the Digital Government Index (on a 0-1 scale) but could improve their digital policy frameworks, whole-of-government approaches and use of data as a strategic asset. On average, only 47% of OECD governments’ high-value datasets are openly available, falling to just 37% in education and 42% in health and social welfare…(More)”.

Disappearing people: A global demographic data crisis threatens public policy

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Jessica M. Espey, Andrew J. Tatem, and Dana R. Thomson: “Every day, decisions that affect our lives—such as where to locate hospitals and how to allocate resources for schools—depend on knowing how many people live where and who they are; for example, their ages, occupations, living conditions, and needs. Such core demographic data in most countries come from a census, a count of the population usually conducted every 10 years. But something alarming is happening to many of these critical data sources. As widely discussed at the United Nations (UN) Statistical Commission meeting in New York in March, fewer countries have managed to complete a census in recent years. And even when they are conducted, censuses have been shown to undercount members of certain groups in important ways. Redressing this predicament requires investment and technological solutions alongside extensive political outreach, citizen engagement, and new partnerships…(More)”

The Reenchanted World: On finding mystery in the digital age

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Essay by Karl Ove Knausgaard: “…When Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote about alienation in the 1840s—that’s nearly two hundred years ago—they were describing workers’ relationship with their work, but the consequences of alienation spread into their analysis to include our relationship to nature and to existence as such. One term they used was “loss of reality.” Society at that time was incomparably more brutal, the machines incomparably coarser, but problems such as economic inequality and environmental destruction have continued into our own time. If anything, alienation as Marx and Engels defined it has only increased.

Or has it? The statement “people are more alienated now than ever before in history” sounds false, like applying an old concept to a new condition. That is not really what we are, is it? If there is something that characterizes our time, isn’t it the exact opposite, that nothing feels alien?

Alienation involves a distance from the world, a lack of connection between it and us. What technology does is compensate for the loss of reality with a substitute. Technology calibrates all differences, fills in every gap and crack with images and voices, bringing everything close to us in order to restore the connection between ourselves and the world. Even the past, which just a few generations ago was lost forever, can be retrieved and brought back…(More)”.

The Hypocrisy Trap: How Changing What We Criticize Can Improve Our Lives

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Book by Michael Hallsworth: “In our increasingly distrusting and polarized nations, accusations of hypocrisy are everywhere. But the strange truth is that our attempts to stamp out hypocrisy often backfire, creating what Michael Hallsworth calls The Hypocrisy Trap. In this groundbreaking book, he shows how our relentless drive to expose inconsistency between words and deeds can actually breed more hypocrisy or, worse, cynicism that corrodes democracy itself.

Through engaging stories and original research, Hallsworth shows that not all hypocrisy is equal. While some forms genuinely destroy trust and create harm, others reflect the inevitable compromises of human nature and complex societies. The Hypocrisy Trap offers practical solutions: ways to increase our own consistency, navigate accusations wisely, and change how we judge others’ actions. Hallsworth shows vividly that we can improve our politics, businesses, and personal relationships if we rethink hypocrisy—soon…(More)”.

Five dimensions of scaling democratic deliberation: With and beyond AI

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Sammy McKinney and Claudia Chwalisz: “In the study and practice of deliberative democracy, academics and practitioners are increasingly exploring the role that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play in scaling democratic deliberation. From claims by leading deliberative democracy scholars that AI can bring deliberation to the ‘mass’, or ‘global’, scale, to cutting-edge innovations from technologists aiming to support scalability in practice, AI’s role in scaling deliberation is capturing the energy and imagination of many leading thinkers and practitioners.

There are many reasons why people may be interested in ‘scaling deliberation’. One is that there is evidence that deliberation has numerous benefits for the people involved in deliberations – strengthening their individual and collective agency, political efficacy, and trust in one another and in institutions. Another is that the decisions and actions that result are arguably higher-quality and more legitimate. Because the benefits of deliberation are so great, there is significant interest around how we could scale these benefits to as many people and decisions as possible.

Another motivation stems from the view that one weakness of small-scale deliberative processes results from their size. Increasing the sheer numbers involved is perceived as a source of legitimacy for some. Others argue that increasing the numbers will also increase the quality of the outputs and outcome.

Finally, deliberative processes that are empowered and/or institutionalised are able to shift political power. Many therefore want to replicate the small-scale model of deliberation in more places, with an emphasis on redistributing power and influencing decision-making.

When we consider how to leverage technology for deliberation, we emphasise that we should not lose sight of the first-order goals of strengthening collective agency. Today there are deep geo-political shifts; in many places, there is a movement towards authoritarian measures, a weakening of civil society, and attacks on basic rights and freedoms. We see the debate about how to ‘scale deliberation’ through this political lens, where our goals are focused on how we can enable a citizenry that is resilient to the forces of autocracy – one that feels and is more powerful and connected, where people feel heard and empathise with others, where citizens have stronger interpersonal and societal trust, and where public decisions have greater legitimacy and better alignment with collective values…(More)”

Fixing the US statistical infrastructure

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Nancy Potok and Erica L. Groshen: “Official government statistics are critical infrastructure for the information age. Reliable, relevant, statistical information helps businesses to invest and flourish; governments at the local, state, and national levels to make critical decisions on policy and public services; and individuals and families to invest in their futures. Yet surrounded by all manner of digitized data, one can still feel inadequately informed. A major driver of this disconnect in the US context is delayed modernization of the federal statistical system. The disconnect will likely worsen in coming months as the administration shrinks statistical agencies’ staffing, terminates programs (notably for health and education statistics), and eliminates unpaid external advisory groups. Amid this upheaval, might the administration’s appetite for disruption be harnessed to modernize federal statistics?

Federal statistics, one of the United States’ premier public goods, differ from privately provided data because they are privacy protected, aggregated to address relevant questions for decision-makers, constructed transparently, and widely available without a subscription. The private sector cannot be expected to adequately supply such statistical infrastructure. Yes, some companies collect and aggregate some economic data, such as credit card purchases and payroll information. But without strong underpinnings of a modern, federal information infrastructure, there would be large gaps in nationally consistent, transparent, trustworthy data. Furthermore, most private providers rely on public statistics for their internal analytics, to improve their products. They are among the many data users asking for more from statistical agencies…(More)”.

The Loyalty Trap

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Book by Jaime Lee Kucinskas: “…explores how civil servants navigated competing pressures and duties amid the chaos of the Trump administration, drawing on in-depth interviews with senior officials in the most contested agencies over the course of a tumultuous term. Jaime Lee Kucinskas argues that the professional culture and ethical obligations of the civil service stabilize the state in normal times but insufficiently prepare bureaucrats to cope with a president like Trump. Instead, federal employees became ensnared in intractable ethical traps, caught between their commitment to nonpartisan public service and the expectation of compliance with political directives. Kucinskas shares their quandaries, recounting attempts to preserve the integrity of government agencies, covert resistance, and a few bold acts of moral courage in the face of organizational decline and politicized leadership. A nuanced sociological account of the lessons of the Trump administration for democratic governance, The Loyalty Trap offers a timely and bracing portrait of the fragility of the American state…(More)”.

Manipulation: What It Is, Why It’s Bad, What to Do About It

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Book by Cass Sunstein: “New technologies are offering companies, politicians, and others unprecedented opportunity to manipulate us. Sometimes we are given the illusion of power – of freedom – through choice, yet the game is rigged, pushing us in specific directions that lead to less wealth, worse health, and weaker democracy. In, Manipulation, nudge theory pioneer and New York Times bestselling author, Cass Sunstein, offers a new definition of manipulation for the digital age, explains why it is wrong; and shows what we can do about it. He reveals how manipulation compromises freedom and personal agency, while threatening to reduce our well-being; he explains the difference between manipulation and unobjectionable forms of influence, including ‘nudges’; and he lifts the lid on online manipulation and manipulation by artificial intelligence, algorithms, and generative AI, as well as threats posed by deepfakes, social media, and ‘dark patterns,’ which can trick people into giving up time and money. Drawing on decades of groundbreaking research in behavioral science, this landmark book outlines steps we can take to counteract manipulation in our daily lives and offers guidance to protect consumers, investors, and workers…(More)”.

Blueprint on Prosocial Tech Design Governance

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Blueprint by Lisa Schirch: “… lays out actionable recommendations for governments, civil society, researchers, and industry to design digital platforms that reduce harm and increase benefit to society.

The Blueprint on Prosocial Tech Design Governance responds to the crisis in the scale and impact of digital platform harms. Digital platforms are fueling a systemic crisis by amplifying misinformation, harming mental health, eroding privacy, promoting polarization, exploiting children, and concentrating unaccountable power through manipulative design.

Prosocial tech design governance is a framework for regulating digital platforms based on how their design choices— such as algorithms and interfaces—impact society. It shifts focus “upstream” to address the root causes of digital harms and the structural incentives influencing platform design…(More)”.

Spaces for democracy with generative artificial intelligence: public architecture at stake

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Ingrid Campo-Ruiz: “Urban space is an important infrastructure for democracy and fosters democratic engagement, such as meetings, discussions, and protests. Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems could affect democracy through urban space, for example, by breaching data privacy, hindering political equality and engagement, or manipulating information about places. This research explores the urban places that promote democratic engagement according to the outputs generated with ChatGPT-4o. This research moves beyond the dominant framework of discussions on AI and democracy as a form of spreading misinformation and fake news. Instead, it provides an innovative framework, combining architectural space as an infrastructure for democracy and the way in which generative AI tools provide a nuanced view of democracy that could potentially influence millions of people. This article presents a new conceptual framework for understanding AI for democracy from the perspective of architecture. For the first case study in Stockholm, Sweden, AI outputs were later combined with GIS maps and a theoretical framework. The research then analyzes the results obtained for Madrid, Spain, and Brussels, Belgium. This analysis provides deeper insights into the outputs obtained with AI, the places that facilitate democratic engagement and those that are overlooked, and the ensuing consequences.Results show that urban space for democratic engagement obtained with ChatGPT-4o for Stockholm is mainly composed of governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations for representative or deliberative democracy and the education of individuals in public buildings in the city centre. The results obtained with ChatGPT-40 barely reflect public open spaces, parks, or routes. They also prioritize organized rather than spontaneous engagement and do not reflect unstructured events like demonstrations, and powerful actors, such as political parties, or workers’ unions. The places listed by ChatGPT-4o for Madrid and Brussels give major prominence to private spaces like offices that house organizations with political activities. While cities offer a broad and complex array of places for democratic engagement, outputs obtained with AI can narrow users’ perspectives on their real opportunities, while perpetuating powerful agents by not making them sufficiently visible to be accountable for their actions. In conclusion, urban space is a fundamental infrastructure for democracy, and AI outputs could be a valid starting point for understanding the plethora of interactions. These outputs should be complemented with other forms of knowledge to produce a more comprehensive framework that adjusts to reality for developing AI in a democratic context. Urban space should be protected as a shared space and as an asset for societies to fully develop democracy in its multiple forms. Democracy and urban spaces influence each other and are subject to pressures from different actors including AI. AI systems should, therefore, be monitored to enhance democratic values through urban space…(More)”.