DEMOCRACY, ACCOUNTABILITY, CITIZENSHIP IN MY WORKS 2022-2018

I am studying Tech Governance since 1992 and focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) since 2018. I am heavily introducing the axis of political theory, making contributions to the study of democracy, accountability and citizenship. The contributions show an ability to reflect the current world that can later reflexively reverse our own self-understanding of reality, as Prof. Fernando Vallespin suggest us to do. I am now working on a book about AI, democracy and accountability, with an original theoretical dashboard drawn from political theory, and examples drawn from different countries. An introduction to this book: “Accountability in Artificial Intelligence," has been presented in September, at the XVI AECPA Congress in Girona, and it is available as a preprint in this blog post.

This post highlights some contributions and publications that I have undertaken since 2018. I am enclosing publications, from the most recent to the least. To get a copy, you may access them through the DOI, or contacting me by mail at olgagil at ucm dot es (olgagil arroba ucm punto es):

• Gil, Olga. 2022. “Public Participation in China and the West.”   SocArXiv (SocOpen) doi:10.31235/osf.io/dapvj. You may access the preprint here.
• Gil, Olga. 2022. “Accountability in Artificial Intelligence."  SocArXiv. (SocOpen) doi: 10.31235/osf.io/wckuf. You may access the preprint here.
• Gil, Olga. 2020 "The regulation of artificial intelligence, software-enabled technologies and big data.", en Revista de Privacidad y Derecho Digital. n. 18. Junio 2020. Pags 101-126. ISSN : 2444-​5762. Access: https://www.rdu.es/catalogo/detalle/No-18-Abril-Junio-RPDD-REV-DIG-18/ANO-V-48. You may access through the repository link.
• 2019. Gil, Olga; Cortés Cediel, María E.; Cantador, Iván. Citizen Participation and the Rise of Digital Media Platforms in Smart Governance International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR). You may access through the repository link.

Now, from the perspective of political theory, these are approximations that have enriched these works:

• Asking the effect of the doxa of the citizen, as Socrates would suggest, when there is the mediation of these tech platforms 
• Thinking about political issues with the aim of increasing the possibilities of truth and freedom in polity, as Margareth Canovan suggest we might do
• The creative construction of value reference schemes on empirical bases: "the kind of historical interpretation with which we are familiar today has driven from theory it's unique function, that of creatively constructing a valuational frame of reference" David Easton suggests.
• Following Michael Freeden, these works reflect upon critical distance, which he conceives as the need to see the arguments angle after angle.
  The present as a moment open to future transformation, H Arendt
• These publications also focus on procedures, as “procedures always involve substantial ethical commitments”, as political theorist Chantal Mouffe states.

Following professor Fernando Vallespin:

• These are works that are explicitly designed with a political intent but at the same time scientifically falsifiable.

• These are works where historical structures are shown, so that we might help "to justify social action strategies from the analysis of objective historical structures"

I am also working around the question stated by Jostein Gaarder – Professor of Philosophy and History of Ideas: "The most important question today is how we can save life on Earth". In this case, my interest is very much drawn from the interest of my students.

2022 Olga GIL,  Ruiz-Campillo, & García Fernández, C. Ready for Climate Change? 

En: Climate Change in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Region. Walter Leal Filho · Evangelos Manolas (Eds.) ISBN 978-3-030-78565-9 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78566-6. Springer Nature 

2021. Olga Gil. "Is There an Environmental Ethic Embedded in Long Term Commitments?" Public Administration, Information Tech., Vol. 37, Elsa Estevez et al. (Eds): Smart Cities and Smart Governance. Springer.

DEMOCRACIA, RESPONSABILIDAD, CIUDADANÍA EN MIS TRABAJOS 2018-2022

Estoy estudiando Tech Governance desde 1992 y centrándome en inteligencia artificial (IA) desde 2018, cuando introduzco fuertemente el eje de la teoría política, haciendo contribuciones al estudio de la democracia, la responsabilidad y la ciudadanía. Las contribuciones muestran una capacidad de reflejar el mundo actual que luego puede revertir reflexivamente en nuestra propia autocomprensión de la realidad, como sugiere que hagamos el Prof. Fernando Vallespin. Ahora estoy trabajando en un libro sobre IA, democracia y rendición de cuentas, con un tablero teórico original extraído de la teoría política y ejemplos extraídos de diferentes países. He presentado una introducción a este libro: “Accountability in Artificial Intelligence”, esta semana en el XVI Congreso de la AECPA en Girona, y está disponible como preprint en esta entrada de blog.

Esta publicación destaca algunas contribuciones y publicaciones que he realizado desde 2018. Adjunto publicaciones, comenzando por las más recientes. Para obtener una copia, puede acceder a ellos a través del DOI o comunicándose conmigo por correo-e (olgagil arroba ucm punto es):

• Gil, Olga. 2022. “Accountability in Artificial Intelligence."  SocArXiv. (SocOpen) doi: 10.31235/osf.io/wckuf. Preprint accesible aquí
• Gil, Olga. 2022. “Public Participation in China and the West.” SocArXiv (SocOpen) doi:10.31235/osf.io/dapvj. Preprint accesible aquí.
• Gil, Olga. 2020 "The regulation of artificial intelligence, software-enabled technologies and big data.", en Revista de Privacidad y Derecho Digital. n. 18. Junio 2020. Pags 101-126. ISSN : 2444-​5762. Access: https://www.rdu.es/catalogo/detalle/No-18-Abril-Junio-RPDD-REV-DIG-18/ANO-V-48. Enlace en el repositorio.
• 2019. Gil, Olga; Cortés Cediel, María E.; Cantador, Iván. Citizen Participation and the Rise of Digital Media Platforms in Smart Governance International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR). Enlace en el repositorio.

Ahora bien, desde la perspectiva de la teoría política, estas son aproximaciones que han enriquecido estos trabajos:

• Reflejar preguntas y respuesta generadas a partir de un análisis de la doxa del ciudadano, como sugeriría Sócrates, cuando existe la mediación de estas plataformas tecnológicas
• Reflexionar sobre cuestiones políticas con el objetivo de aumentar las posibilidades de la verdad y la libertad en la política, como sugiere hacer Margareth Canovan.
• La construcción creativa de esquemas valorativos de referencia sobre bases empíricas, según sugiere David Easton.
• Siguiendo a Michael Freeden, estas obras reflexionan desde la distancia crítica, que él concibe como la necesidad de mostrar y analizar los argumentos ángulo tras ángulo.
• La consideración del presente como momento abierto a la transformación futura, como propone Hanna Arendt
• Estas publicaciones también se centran en los procedimientos, ya que “los procedimientos siempre implican compromisos éticos sustanciales”, como afirma la teórica política Chantal Mouffe.

Siguiendo al profesor Fernando Vallespín:

• Se trata de obras que están explícitamente diseñadas con una intención política pero al mismo tiempo científicamente falsables.
• Son obras donde se muestran estructuras históricas, de modo que podamos ayudar a "justificar estrategias de acción social desde el análisis de estructuras históricas objetivas".

También estoy trabajando en torno a la pregunta formulada por Jostein Gaarder, profesor de Filosofía e Historia de las Ideas: "La pregunta más importante hoy es cómo podemos salvar la vida en la Tierra". En este caso, mi interés se deriva en gran medida del interés de mis alumnos.

2022 Olga GIL,  Ruiz-Campillo, & García Fernández, C. Ready for Climate Change? 

En: Climate Change in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Region. Walter Leal Filho · Evangelos Manolas (Eds.) ISBN 978-3-030-78565-9 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78566-6. Springer Nature 

2021. Olga Gil. "Is There an Environmental Ethic Embedded in Long Term Commitments?" Public Administration, Information Tech., Vol. 37, Elsa Estevez et al. (Eds): Smart Cities and Smart Governance. Springer.

ARTIFICIAL INTELIGENCE, DEMOCRACY AND POWER THEORY

On an article published in The Atlantic in June 2018, Henry Kissinger writes about artificial intelligence (AI) and argues that philosophically, intellectually -in every way- human societies are unprepared for its rise. Kissinger goes on to argue that the Enlightenment started with essentially philosophical insights spread by a new technology, the printing press, and we could be facing now how enlightment itself ends with this new AI technology. Kissinger article follows up on a report published by the Brookings Institution on how artificial intelligence is transforming the world that I strongly recommend. Challenges facing AI are indeed strong for democracy and power relations in societies.

The three arguments made by Kissinger facing Articial Intelligence

Kissinger argues first of all, that AI may achieve unintended results, since we might not be sure that AI is able to comprehend the context that informs its instructions. Secondly, Kissinger argues that in achieving intended goals, AI may change human thought processes and human values.There are further questions "Do we want children to learn values through discourse with untethered algorithms? Should we protect privacy by restricting AI’s learning about its questioners? If so, how do we accomplish these goals?" And thirdly -argues Kissinger- "AI may reach intended goals, but be unable to explain the rationale for its conclusions. In certain fields—pattern recognition, big-data analysis, gaming—AI’s capacities already may exceed those of humans. If its computational power continues to compound rapidly, AI may soon be able to optimize situations in ways that are at least marginally different, and probably significantly different, from how humans would optimize them. But at that point, will AI be able to explain, in a way that humans can understand, why its actions are optimal?"