AI for policy – Cryptopolitan

In a bold move towards embracing artificial intelligence (AI), Romania has taken a significant step by integrating AI into its policymaking process.

The Romanian government has introduced an AI-powered robot named Ion to improve its understanding of public concerns and to strengthen the connection between citizens and their decision-makers.

Romania embracing AI for democracy

Ion, developed by a local startup called Humans.ai, gathers data by automatically scanning social media, analyzing a specific hashtag, and receiving messages from the public through a designated platform.

The collected data is then transformed into reports for government officials, with the ultimate goal of proposing policy recommendations based on public input.

Sebastian Burduja, Romania’s innovation minister, sees the potential for AI to strengthen democracy and consolidate the legitimacy of governments.

Ion represents the first experiment in using AI for this purpose, but Burduja envisions a future where the technology plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between citizens and their representatives.

Since its launch in March, Ion has already generated at least one report from the data it has collected. The AI-powered robot is slated for an upgrade this summer, which will enable it to provide answers and equip officials with a dashboard to filter data based on various parameters.

This innovative approach comes as the European Union prepares its AI Act, a comprehensive set of guidelines and regulations for AI development and deployment across the 27 member countries, including Romania.

While Ion’s introduction marks a significant milestone, some experts have raised concerns about potential downsides. Kris Shrishak, a technology fellow at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, points out that equating social media with public space may be problematic, as not everyone is represented on these platforms.

There is a risk of certain voices being amplified, particularly those who post regularly, which could distort the perception of public sentiment.

Experts also caution that bots could potentially spam social media to create the illusion of trending topics, skewing the data Ion relies on for its analysis.

A world first: AI advisor to the Prime Minister

In another groundbreaking development, Romania’s prime minister has appointed Ion as an honorary government advisor. The AI system, consisting of a mirror-like surface that displays text and a male or female face, was designed to analyze the opinions of Romanian citizens on key issues and policies quickly.

Citizens can interact with Ion on the project’s website, and the AI will also search social media to understand popular topics and perform sentiment analysis on public reactions to specific events.

Nicu Sebe, the research coordinator behind Ion, sees the AI-powered advisor as a real-time pulse-check, providing valuable insights and suggestions to the prime minister.

Romania’s progressive leap into AI for policymaking demonstrates the potential for emerging technologies to enhance the democratic process and strengthen the bond between citizens and their government.

As the world watches, Romania’s experiment with Ion could serve as a template for other countries looking to harness the power of AI in governance.

However, it remains essential to address potential challenges and concerns to ensure the technology benefits all citizens fairly and accurately represents public sentiment.