Building a Policy Compass: Navigating Future Migration with Anticipatory Methods

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Report by Sara Marcucci and Stefaan Verhulst: “Migration is a complex, dynamic issue, shaped by interconnected drivers like climate change, political shifts, and economic instability. Traditional migration policies often fall short, reacting to events after they unfold. In a rapidly changing world, anticipating migration trends is essential for developing responsive, proactive, and informed policies that address emerging challenges before they escalate. “Building a Policy Compass: Navigating Future Migration with Anticipatory Methods” introduces a suite of methods that aim to shift migration policy toward evidence-based, forward-looking decisions. This report, published for the Big Data for Migration Alliance, provides an overview of the challenges and criteria to consider when selecting and using anticipatory methods for migration policy.

To guide policymakers, the report organizes these methods into a taxonomy based on three categories:

  • Experience-Based Methods: These capture lived experiences through approaches like narrative interviews and participatory action research. They ground migration policy in the perspectives of those directly affected by it.
  • Expertise-Based Methods: Using specialized knowledge from migration experts, methods such as expert panels or Delphi processes can inform nuanced policy decisions.
  • Exploration-Based Methods: These methods, including scenario planning and wildcards analysis, encourage creative, out-of-the-box thinking for addressing unexpected migration challenges.

The report emphasizes that not every method is suited to all migration contexts and offers eight criteria to guide method selection…(More)”.

Review of relevance of the OECD Recommendation on ICTs and the Environment

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

OECD Policy Report: “The OECD Recommendation on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Environment was adopted in 2010 and recognised the link between digital technologies and environmental sustainability. Today, advances in digital technologies underscore their growing role in achieving climate resilience. At the same time, digital technologies and their underlying infrastructure have an environmental footprint that must be managed. This report takes stock of technology and policy developments since the adoption of the Recommendation and provides a gap analysis and assessment of its relevance, concluding that the Recommendation remains relevant and identifying areas for revision…(More)”.

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Report by the National Academies: “AI technology is at an inflection point: a surge of technological progress has driven the rapid development and adoption of generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT, which are capable of generating text, images, or other content based on user requests.

This technical progress is likely to continue in coming years, with the potential to complement or replace human labor in certain tasks and reshape job markets. However, it is difficult to predict exactly which new AI capabilities might emerge, and when these advances might occur.

This National Academies’ report evaluates recent advances in AI technology and their implications for economic productivity, job stability, and income inequality, identifying research opportunities and data needs to equip workers and policymakers to flexibly respond to AI developments…(More)”

OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2024

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

OECD Report: “The most recent phase of digital transformation is marked by rapid technological changes, creating both opportunities and risks for the economy and society. The Volume 2 of the OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2024 explores emerging priorities, policies and governance practices across countries. It also examines trends in the foundations that enable digital transformation, drive digital innovation and foster trust in the digital age. The volume concludes with a statistical annex…

In 2023, digital government, connectivity and skills topped the list of digital policy priorities. Increasingly developed at a high level of government, national digital strategies play a critical role in co-ordinating these efforts. Nearly half of the 38 countries surveyed develop these strategies through dedicated digital ministries, up from just under a quarter in 2016. Among 1 200 policy initiatives tracked across the OECD, one-third aim to boost digital technology adoption, social prosperity, and innovation. AI and 5G are the most often-cited technologies…(More)”

Launching the Data-Powered Positive Deviance Course

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Blog by Robin Nowok: “Data-Powered Positive Deviance (DPPD) is a new method that combines the principles of Positive Deviance with the power of digital data and advanced analytics. Positive Deviance is based on the observation that in every community or organization, some individuals achieve significantly better outcomes than their peers, despite having similar challenges and resources. These individuals or groups are referred to as positive deviants.

The DPPD method follows the same logic as the Positive Deviance approach but leverages existing, non-traditional data sources, either instead of or in conjunction with traditional data sources. This allows for the identification of positive deviants on larger geographic and temporal scales. Once identified, we can then uncover the behaviors that lead to their success, enabling others to adopt these practices.

In a world where top-down solutions often fall short, DPPD offers a fresh perspective. It focuses on finding what’s already working within communities, rather than imposing external solutions. This can lead to more sustainable, culturally appropriate, and effective interventions.

Our online course is designed to get you started on your DPPD journey. Through five modules, you’ll gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to apply DPPD in your own work…(More)”.

Assessing potential future artificial intelligence risks, benefits and policy imperatives

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

OECD Report: “The swift evolution of AI technologies calls for policymakers to consider and proactively manage AI-driven change. The OECD’s Expert Group on AI Futures was established to help meet this need and anticipate AI developments and their potential impacts. Informed by insights from the Expert Group, this report distils research and expert insights on prospective AI benefits, risks and policy imperatives. It identifies ten priority benefits, such as accelerated scientific progress, productivity gains and better sense-making and forecasting. It discusses ten priority risks, such as facilitation of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks; manipulation, disinformation, fraud and resulting harms to democracy; concentration of power; incidents in critical systems and exacerbated inequality and poverty. Finally, it points to ten policy priorities, including establishing clearer liability rules, drawing AI “red lines”, investing in AI safety and ensuring adequate risk management procedures. The report reviews existing public policy and governance efforts and remaining gaps…(More)”.

The Motivational State: A strengths-based approach to improving public sector productivity

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Alex Fox and Chris Fox: “…argues that traditional approaches to improving public sector productivity, such as adopting private sector practices, technology-driven reforms, and tighter management, have failed to address the complex and evolving needs of public service users. It proposes a shift towards a strengths-based, person-led model, where public services are co-produced with individuals, families, and communities…(More)”.

More-than-human governance experiments in Europe

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Claudia Chwalisz & Lucy Reid: “There is a growing network of people and places exploring and practising how governance and policy design can draw on more-than-human intelligences.

‘More-than-human’ was initially coined by David Abram in his 1997 book The Spell of the Sensuous. The term refers to the animate earth and the impossibility of separating our human- ness from our relationship with it. Our exploration related to governance has been around how we might meaningfully consider our relationship with the living world when taking decisions.

We have undertaken a short exploratory research project to learn who is conducting new governance experiments in Europe to begin to map the field, learn from best practices, and share these findings…

There were three main types of approaches to applying the idea of more-than-human governance in practice, sometimes with an overlap:

  • Rights-based;
  • Representation-focused, and 
  • Artistic.

We identified four key groups we felt were missing from our initial research and discussions:

  • Indigenous voices;
  • More non-specialists and artists;
  • A few critical voices, and
  • People using technology in novel ways that reshape our relationship with the living world…(More)”

Voice and Access in AI: Global AI Majority Participation in Artificial Intelligence Development and Governance

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Sumaya N. Adan et al: “Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as one of the most transformative technologies in human history, with the potential to profoundly impact all aspects of society globally. However, access to AI and participation in its development and governance is concentrated among a few countries with advanced AI capabilities, while the ‘Global AI Majority’ – defined as the population of countries primarily encompassing Africa, Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and parts of Eastern Europe – is largely excluded. These regions, while diverse, share common challenges in accessing and influencing advanced AI technologies.

This white paper investigates practical remedies to increase voice in and access to AI governance and capabilities for the Global AI Majority, while addressing the security and commercial concerns of frontier AI states. We examine key barriers facing the Global AI Majority, including limited access to digital and compute infrastructure, power concentration in AI development, Anglocentric data sources, and skewed talent distributions. The paper also explores the dual-use dilemma of AI technologies and how it motivates frontier AI states to implement restrictive policies.

We evaluate a spectrum of AI development initiatives, ranging from domestic model creation to structured access to deployed models, assessing their feasibility for the Global AI Majority. To resolve governance dilemmas, we propose three key approaches: interest alignment, participatory architecture, and safety assurance…(More)”.