Can AI Be Democratic? Building Transparent AI with Citizens | Mieke Boon | Moral Ambition for AI

Описание: Professor Boon's talk focused on the critical need to align scientific research, especially in AI, with societal needs and democratic values, drawing from her background in chemical engineering and philosophy of science, and on how the foundation she chairs, Stichting HOOP, contributes to this effort.

In particular, she discussed the DECIDE project that she leads (Democratizing AI, Empowering Citizens through Transparent Decision Making), which aims to close the gap between citizens and AI systems. In this project, researchers from different disciplines—including computer science, philosophy, ethics, psychology, law, public administration, and business sciences—work together with citizens to develop more transparent and democratic AI systems. These systems are designed to give citizens more control over decisions that affect their lives and to support a fair and inclusive transformation of society. Recently, the DECIDE project received a grant of €6.8 million from the NWA ORC program of the Dutch Research Agenda.

This talk is organised as part of the Moral Ambition for AI Circle, an initiative coming from but not organised by the School for Moral Ambition's Circle Programme.

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SUMMARY

Professor Boon’s talk focused on the importance of aligning scientific research, particularly in artificial intelligence, with societal needs and democratic values. Drawing on her background in chemical engineering and philosophy of science, she explained that much university research does not easily translate into real-world applications, which creates a gap between science and society. To address this problem, she founded Stichting Hoop (Foundation Hope). This foundation aims to build stronger connections between universities and society by setting up collaborative projects focused on complex societal challenges such as the Sustainable Development Goals. A key emphasis of Stichting Hoop is on people rather than just technology. It supports the development of “transitional expertise” in individuals, described as change agents, both within academia and professional practice. These individuals are trained with the skills, methods, and collaborative environments needed to act on their moral ambitions and values.

The main focus of the talk was the DECIDE project, short for Democratizing AI – Empowering Citizens through Transparent Decision-making, which received a grant of 6.8 million euros from the Dutch Research Agenda. The core aim of the project is to democratize AI by giving citizens the tools, knowledge, and opportunities to participate in the design and development of AI systems. This approach seeks to reduce power imbalances and ensure that AI serves the interests of society as a whole. The project follows an “Impact Approach,” meaning that research starts from the desired societal impact rather than from a purely disciplinary research question. The process begins by defining the intended impact, then analyzing the societal problem, identifying knowledge gaps, and finally conducting research to address those gaps.

A distinctive aspect of the DECIDE project is its focus on decision support systems, referred to as AI-CSS, or Artificial Intelligence Citizen Support Systems. These systems are designed to help citizens and professionals make better and more informed decisions, rather than replacing human judgment with automated decisions. Citizens and professionals are invited to co-design these tools so that the technology supports thinking instead of taking it over. The project is structured around four Citizens and Empowerment Scenarios, such as medical decision-making, government decisions, and transport systems. These scenarios connect interdisciplinary work packages that include social sciences, education and AI literacy, computer science for developing AI-CSS, legislation, and fundamental philosophical questions.

Professor Boon concluded by presenting a broader vision for both the DECIDE project and Stichting Hoop. She argued that AI should be used as a powerful tool that provides reliable, relevant, and understandable knowledge to help people analyze situations, compare options, and imagine alternatives. In this way, AI can reduce cognitive burden while strengthening human capabilities. At the same time, the work aims to cultivate higher-order thinking and sound judgment, enabling people to act prudently and competently in complex real-world transitions. The long-term ambition is to build a growing community of transition experts who can collectively accelerate responsible and meaningful societal change.