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Can artificial intelligence strengthen local democracy? Yes, claims professor and seeks support from the Research Council of Norway

Professor Andreas Opdahl, one of Norway's leading experts in artificial intelligence (AI), is spearheading an ambitious initiative: Insight, a research center focused on AI in local democratic ecosystems. With a clear objective to develop technology that enhances local democracy, researchers and industry partners are now seeking funding from the Research Council of Norway.

Andreas Opdahl
Professor Andreas Opdahl, one of Norway's leading experts in artificial intelligence (AI), is spearheading an ambitious initiative: Insight, a research center focused on AI in local democratic ecosystems.
Photo:
Amanda Schei

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"Local governments, news media, engaged citizens, and researchers are essential for a well-functioning local democracy," says Opdahl. "With increasing financial pressures and early signs of declining trust among citizens, both public administration and the press are turning to AI. However, they face significant obstacles, including technological limitations, complex regulations, and a lack of specialized expertise."

Opdahl, in collaboration with a team of researchers and industry partners, has submitted a groundbreaking proposal to the Research Council of Norway to establish Insight - a research center dedicated to advancing AI within local democratic ecosystems. The center seeks to develop innovative AI solutions that support local governments and journalists, empower citizens to hold their leaders accountable, and ensure privacy and trust remain central at every stage.

AI Should Enhance Human Capacity, Not Replace It

At the heart of Insight is the goal of fostering stronger connections between citizens, media, and local governments. By automating routine administrative tasks such as case management, efficiency tracking, and anomaly detection, AI can free up resources, allowing municipal employees to focus on strategic and complex challenges.

"AI should never replace people; it should enhance their capabilities," Opdahl emphasizes. "By easing administrative burdens, we aim to contribute to a more efficient and transparent public administration."

Citizens, too, stand to benefit, gaining easier access to information about local political decisions and matters that directly affect them. "Imagine if citizens could easily see how policies impact their daily lives and neighborhoods," he says. "That is the level of accessibility we are aiming for."

The project also focuses on strengthening local journalism, which often struggles with limited resources. By leveraging AI to monitor public meetings, analyze large volumes of documents, and highlight newsworthy issues, journalists could gain powerful tools that simplify their work.

"Journalists are the backbone of local democracy," Opdahl stresses. "AI cannot replace them but can free up their time, allowing them to focus on investigating critical issues and uncovering stories that might otherwise go untold. By doing so, local journalism can fulfill its role as society’s watchdog even more effectively."

Public Data Serving Democracy

Open public data holds immense potential to strengthen society, but only when used responsibly. Opdahl explains that advanced AI techniques are already being used to organize and access documents and data efficiently, analyze workflows, detect anomalies, and generate decisions and summaries. However, the current technology is far from sufficient.

"What we see is that generative AI can provide a significant aid to local democratic ecosystems," says Opdahl. "But today’s models are not built to navigate the intricate legal and ethical standards required in journalism and public administration."

The challenges are significant. Public authorities rely on precision and reliability while balancing privacy with transparency. This becomes especially difficult with current AI models, which often function as "black boxes" - with internal processes hidden and incomprehensible to users. Additionally, those models risk reinforcing biases and generating inaccurate or misleading outputs, commonly referred to as "hallucinations."

"Our goal at the center is to develop AI solutions that are fair, reliable, and secure," Opdahl explains. "We are aiming to better understand bias and minimize it, create robust tools that integrate diverse data types like text and video, and ensure these tools are user-friendly for citizens, journalists, and public officials. Importantly, these tools must also explain AI-driven decisions in a clear and understandable way. By building Norway’s capacity for AI through research, collaboration, and education, we aim to make local democracy more transparent and inclusive."

AI Innovation in Practice

To ensure the relevance and utility of its research, Insight will create a shared testing environment where new AI solutions can be trialed in collaboration with actual users.

One key initiative already underway is Demokratibasen (The Democracy Database), a prototype tool designed to summarize content, extract keywords, and flag newsworthy items from publicly available government documents. This tool has already proven invaluable for local journalists navigating vast amounts of information.

"With Demokratibasen and similar projects, we can not only refine AI solutions but also address critical questions around privacy and ethics," says Opdahl. "This allows us to align technological development with society’s actual needs."

Asbjørn Leirvåg, project leader for Demokratibasen at the Center for Investigative Journalism (SUJO), highlights the tool’s early successes:

"Demokratibasen, developed in collaboration with iTromsø, Bergens Tidende, Framtid i Nord, and NRK, has already demonstrated its value. By utilizing the tool, editorial teams have uncovered political documents that have formed the basis of impactful news stories. Journalists are accessing key issues earlier and gaining better oversight, especially those covering multiple municipalities. The response from Norway’s media community has been overwhelming, with support from organizations like the Norwegian Journalists’ Union (Norsk journalistlag), the Association of Norwegian Editors (Norsk Redaktørforening), and the National Association of Local Newspapers (Landslaget for lokalaviser)."

"We now need to enhance the tool’s stability and integrate additional useful features before launching it for broader use. Right now, it’s still a prototype, but the vision is for Demokratibasen to evolve through the Insight center. The center would provide the resources needed to develop the tool further, drawing on cutting-edge foundational research and the combined expertise of academic and industry partners."

Leirvåg highlights the critical need for government AI initiatives to prioritize journalism:

"We hope the Insight center receives support from the Research Council of Norway. Such funding would enable research focused on providing journalism with advanced tools, such as Demokratibasen, to enhance its role as society’s watchdog. In the long term such a tool could also become a valuable resource for local politicians, municipal administrations, researchers, and the public. Few AI tools have shown such significant potential to deliver widespread societal benefits."