This open access book focuses on public governance’s increasing reliance on emerging digital technologies. ‘Disruptive’ or ‘emerging’ digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, are often portrayed as highly promising, with the potential to transform established societal, economic, or governmental practices. Unsurprisingly, public actors are therefore increasingly experimenting with the application of these emerging digital technologies in public governance.
The first part of the book shows how automatization via algorithmic systems, the networked nature of distributed technologies such as blockchain, and data-driven use of AI in public governance can promote hyper-connectivity and hyper-complexity. This trend and the associated concerns have drawn societal, political, and scholarly attention to regulatory compliance considering the current and potential future uses of emerging technologies. Accordingly, the second part of the book focuses on regulatory compliance and regulatory solutions. It explores the compatibility of technology with existing regulations, existing legal tools that could be innovatively applied for the successful regulation of emerging technologies, and approaches to updating existing legislation or creating new legislation for the regulation of emerging technologies. While socio-ethical considerations on upholding public values in a digital world are at the heart of all chapters, the third part specifically focuses on public values and trust. It advances a conceptual, normative discussion, putting the spotlight on trust and other fundamental public values that should be safeguarded.
The book shows that the success of using emerging technologies in public governance depends to a large extent on the choices made by key stakeholders in public administration, legislative and regulatory bodies, and tech companies. When using and regulating emerging technologies in public governance, it is crucial to uphold public values and comply with legislation in a way that prioritizes the citizen’s perspective. To this end, the book offers an interdisciplinary approach based on qualitative and conceptual research.
Table of Contents:
Governance by Technology, Governance of Technology: The Quest for Public Values, Trust, and Regulatory Compliance.- PART I - Governance: by and of Technology.- Municipalities Enacting Algorithms: A Typology of Dutch Municipal Strategies for Leveraging Algorithmic Systems.- The Role of Technology in Citizens' Right to Good Administration: Examining the Impact of Smart Governments.- Explainable AI Is No Silver Bullet: Towards a Contextual Understanding of Appropriate Reliance on AI in Law Enforcement.- European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC): A New Governance Framework for the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI).- Privacy-By-Design in the Belgian Public Sector: Pseudonymising & Joining Personal Data Fragmented over Multiple Organizations.- Our Stakes in Data: How Do We (Re)gain Democratic Control over Digital Practices?.- PART II - Regulatory Compliance - “Here we Must Run as Fast as we Can, Just to Stay in Place”.- Regulatory Equivalence in Blockchain Systems: The Role of Public Values and Legitimacy.- The Need for Responsible Use of AI by Public Administration: Algorithmic Impact Assessments (AIAs) as Instruments for Accountability and Social Control.- As Much as Faith: A Speculation on Quantum Computing with Fiduciary Law in Public Governance.- The Rule of Tech? Submitting Legislation to Digital Constraints.- The Shaping of AI Policies in Latin America: A Study of International Influence and Local Realities.- PART III - Public Trust and Values – in Technology we Trust?.- Empathy as a Public Value: Overcoming Administrative Vulnerability and Rehumanizing (Digital) Government.- Civic Vice in Digital Governance.- Algorithmic Governance and Social Vulnerability: a Value Analysis of Equality and Trust.- The Frameworks of Trust and Trustlessness Around Algorithmic Control Technologies: A Lost Sense of Community.- Learning-Loop Bureaucracies: A Configuration Approach to AI, Law, and Organizations.
About the Author :
Prof. Mr. Dr. Jurgen Goossens is Full Professor of Constitutional Law and Head of the Institute of Jurisprudence, Constitutional and Administrative Law at Utrecht University.
Prof. Dr. Esther Keymolen is Full professor of Digital Technology Regulation and Head of the Tilburg Institute for Law and Technology (TILT) Tilburg University.
Dr. Antonia Stanojevic is Postdoctoral research fellow at Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) and Tilburg Institute for Law and Economics (TILEC) at Tilburg University.
