More and more governments and organizations are using AI in citizen participation. But which approaches actually work? What are the risks? And how do you use AI without losing what makes participation meaningful?

Last week, we brought together speakers to discuss key findings from the new OECD and Bertelsmann Stiftung report, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Citizen Participation, and to share concrete global examples of how AI can support participation and deliberation. Now, we’re inviting you to join practitioners from five countries to work through these questions together in a hands-on workshop on Wednesday, September 30, 9 am ET / 3 pm CEST / 8 pm Bangkok.

In facilitated breakout rooms, you'll hear from speakers who are already doing this work, ask questions, and exchange ideas with your peers. 

How the workshop works

Over two rounds of small-group breakout rooms, each led by a case study speaker and a facilitator, you'll explore real examples of AI in citizen participation and discuss how they relate to your own work. 

Each case study tackles a different challenge: from processing large volumes of unstructured citizen input, to preserving minority viewpoints in public consultations, to maintaining human oversight in AI-assisted processes.

You are invited to come with your own challenges, share and receive feedback, and leave with concrete ideas to apply to your work. This is a space for honest exchange on what's worked, what hasn't, and what's still unresolved.

Case study speakers:

• Sofía Garzón Gómez, Mayor's Office of Bogotá: SATI, an early warning system that uses AI to turn citizen complaints into integrity signals

• Christos Porios, OpenCouncil: AI-powered transcription and analysis of city council meetings in Greece

• Sampo Ruoppila, CoPlanAI: AI-supported urban planning, including the Nusantara Capital 2024 development project

• Patiphan Srichai, WeVis: DreamCon, a participatory platform for public input on constitutional reform in Thailand

• Ireland Twiggs, Co-operation Ireland: Voice Matters, using AI-powered transcription for peacebuilding dialogue

The workshop is grounded in the findings of the OECD report, which advances a typology of nine AI applications for citizen participation, supported by over 50 use cases from 22 countries. Whether you work in government, civil society, or civic tech, this is a chance to connect research to practice alongside others doing the same.

A note on AI use in this workshop

In this workshop, we will use deliberAIde, a speech-to-text transcription tool, to capture key points from breakout discussions. deliberAIde automatically anonymizes all transcriptions — no names or identifying information are retained. All data is processed on EU-based servers and is not used for AI training. An AI-free breakout room will be available for participants who prefer not to have their discussion transcribed.

This workshop is co-organized by People Powered, the OECD, and Bertelsmann Stiftung.