The federal vote of March 7 on the electronic identity project (e-ID) was swept away by the Swiss people. The usefulness of an e-ID was not controversial, but its management by private companies led to a referendum launched by the Digital Society, the organization Campax, the platform We collect and the association Public Beta. All of them denounced the liberalization of a regalian task. This decision illustrates the challenge of defining the role of digital technologies in our societies.
Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of personal assistants such as Siri or Alexa, search engines such as Google, and personalized ads on social media. But what about in 5 to 10 years? Will an AI-powered digital clone vote on our behalf? For more information about AI, please consult the NESTA website.
If we start from the principle that technology, and more generally design, influences individuals and society, it is important to give a voice to the "users", that is to say to the citizens. This citizen consultation is therefore in line with a logic of inclusive participation and wishes to give citizens the opportunity to choose the role of artificial intelligence in democratic processes.
This citizen consultation makes a series of propositions on the use of artificial intelligence in democratic processes. They stem from the first part of this study: the expert consultation.
All propositions are based on an (1) artificial intelligence and (2) data collection entirely managed by a public entity (cantonal or federal).
This survey is constituted of three main stages:
Summer and Fall 2020: Consultation of experts during individual interviews (June - October) and an academic conference (December).
Spring 2021: Consultation of the population on concrete propositions on the use of AI in democratic processes (April - June). In May, two scenarios will also be added to the consultation.
Fall 2021: The results of this consultation will be presented and discussed at a roundtable on Thursday, October 7 at 6:30 pm as part of Democracy Week.
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