artificial Intelligence To enHAnce Civic pArticipation

Project Information

ITHACA

Grant agreement ID: 101094364

DOI

10.3030/101094364

Project closed

EC signature date 6 December 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2025

Funded under

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

Total cost

€ 2 640 875,00

EU contribution

€ 2 640 875,00

Coordinated by

KONNEKT ABLE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Ireland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ITHACA (artificial Intelligence To enHAnce Civic pArticipation)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

ITHACA project aims to better understand the complexities and controversies for applying AI into the field of civic participation and stimulate new and responsible practices of research and innovation that anchor AI technologies design in human rights, values and principles, and moral and ethical reflection.The project vision is to contribute to the maximisation of the possible positive impact of AI on the functioning of democratic institutions and processes by developing and testing of a human centric Artificially Intelligent and Ethics by Design online discussion platform for civic participation in local governance, which incorporates human and social interpretations into the design process to ensure that AI decision-making processes are explainable, transparent and fair. ITHACA will pay particular attention to the needs and voices of citizens from vulnerable groups, with a view to ensuring that human rights impacts stemming from the design, development and ongoing deployment of algorithmic systems are comprehensively monitored, debated and addressed.
Through its pilot activities in two different EU countries, ITHACA plans to assess the ability of AI to enhance citizens participation in the local governance while preventing or minimizing possible adverse effects stemming from unregulated use of AI and empowering citizens with knowledge about the AI model involved. ITHACA will also provide scalable tools for the identification of security risks and threats and for conformity with the Fairness principle and Privacy principle in AI-based systems and big data for civic engagement applications. Based on its implementation experiences, the project will define a data governance framework with relevant ethical principles and practices to be implemented in the design, development, deployment process for AI civic engagement platforms as well as policy recommendations on philosophical, legal and ethical values that should be embedded in the development of such platforms.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In WP1: State of the art and conceptualization the following actions took place:
● T1.1: focussed on the analysis of social contexts and ethical/legal frameworks in the pilot cities, identifying vulnerable groups and vulnerability variables. This task also involved gathering statistical and demographic data and analyzing AI ethics guidelines.
● T1.2: reviewed guidelines on trustworthy AI from various sources, analyzed Privacy Preserving ML tools, and both collaborated with the other partners for a comprehensive examination of AI compliance and trustworthiness.
● T1.3: focused on best practices in AI technologies for civic participation, evaluating AI applications for their effectiveness in ethical and inclusive values.
● T1.4: reviewed metrics for trustworthy AI evaluation and contributed to the drafting of a review paper on trustworthy AI and privacy-preserving tools.
● T1.5: developed an operational framework for Explainable AI (XAI), identifying key models and tools for e-democracy platforms.
● T1.6: evaluated Personal Information Management Systems (PIMS), focusing on aspects like data collection, organization, and privacy.
● T1.7: established a template for conceptualizing the project's key messages, features, and research needs based on the outcomes of the Tasks T1.1 to T1.6 to refine the ITHACA platform's design and implementation strategy.

In WP2: Algorithmic risk assessment and human-centred design the following actions took place:
● T2.1: created a participant form for selecting individuals for the AI Citizens’ Juries, incorporating insights from the social contexts identified in Task 1.1.
● T2.2: focused on implementing introductory workshops with stakeholders, both online and onsite.
● T2.3: provided the methodology, workshop contents and presentations.
● T2.4: prepared a questionnaire to identify user's requirements, their goals and expectations as part of the 'Algorithmic risk assessment' Workshop with the AI Citizens’ Juries in the two ITHACA pilot cities in Martin and Brasov. The analysis of these questionnaires as well as the preparation of workshops with other stakeholders, such as representatives of the pilot partners as well as with AI specialists, data analysts, and ethical AI advocates which will be carried out at the Begin of 2024 has already started in Project Month 12 (December 23).

In WP5: Conformity assessments tools, policy recommendations and guidelines the following actions took place:
● T5.1: coordinated the distribution of tasks among partners, leveraging each one's strengths and expertise. Progress has been made, and bi-weekly calls have been established to ensure open communication and collaboration across all parties.
● T5.3: A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) template has been developed to identify and mitigate privacy risks in data handling. The team is currently evaluating data collected from workshops to align with DPIA requirements and has introduced consent forms for collecting personal data. The completion of DPIA awaits the finalization of the platform's architecture, which will allow for a thorough assessment of personal data usage and ensure compliance with data protection laws, emphasizing the project's dedication to privacy and security.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

ITHACA aims to enhance ethics compliance in civic engagement applications through three scalable tools embodying fairness, security, and privacy principles. It seeks to foster responsible Trustworthy AI development and use in civic participation, involving end-users in decision-making algorithms for transparency and accountability. Citizens Juries will facilitate discussions on algorithmic accountability, emphasizing human rights, ethical, and social considerations in AI systems' design and operation.

The project will establish governance protocols for AI system management, define performance metrics, and monitor effectiveness. Unlike existing platforms, ITHACA's approach aligns with European values for Trustworthy AI (Lawful, Ethical, Robust) and involves strong co-creation practices. It introduces innovations in online democracy through AI and big data, including automated content filtering and moderation, to better understand citizen needs and opinions.

ITHACA's research will adhere to fundamental European rights and values, aiming to safeguard privacy, democracy, and equality in AI-powered civic participation. It will provide technical mechanisms for personal data management in compliance with GDPR, raise public awareness on AI and big data risks, and guide AI designers in developing applications that respect fundamental rights.