Let the public shape digital systems to avert ‘polycrisis’, expert urges

Public institutions face a “polycrisis” that could comprise trust in digital systems, it is claimed.

Dr Oliver Escobar, chair of public policy and democratic innovation at the University of Edinburgh, claims that advances in technology are widening the gap between the public and the institutions that serve them.

He says “questions of legitimacy and questions of capacity” must be solved in order for people to feel that they have a say in the digital systems that they increasingly rely on.

Escobar, the academic behind calls for a citizens’ assembly on AI, was speaking at a conference by Holyrood Events which brought together tech experts from the public, private and third sectors.

Held at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, the one-day Digital Transformation event included sessions on digital leadership and public service reform.

The citizens’ assembly call aims at establishing a permanent forum allowing the public to have a say in shaping policy decisions around AI.

Alongside this, Escobar and colleagues argue that the Scottish Government should provide “sustained investment” in data and AI skills as an industrial strategy commitment.

And they called on governments to take a longer-term view of AI infrastructure planning, modelled on approaches used for areas such as energy and transport.

Speaking today, Escobar said “our public institutions are facing a polycrisis”, with legitimacy at stake, and called on decision-makers to “mobilise collective intelligence and collective action for public purposes”.

He said: “People don’t simply want more efficient systems. That’s a given. They also want meaningful influence.”

That means ensuring digital resources are “owned or governed in the public interest”, he said.