A Replica for our Democracies? On Using Digital Twins to Enhance Deliberative Democracy
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866915336078491648 |
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| author | Novelli, Claudio Sánchez-Vaquerizo, Javier Argota Helbing, Dirk Rotolo, Antonino Floridi, Luciano |
| author_facet | Novelli, Claudio Sánchez-Vaquerizo, Javier Argota Helbing, Dirk Rotolo, Antonino Floridi, Luciano |
| contents | Deliberative democracy depends on carefully designed institutional frameworks, such as participant selection, facilitation methods, and decision-making mechanisms, that shape how deliberation performs. However, identifying optimal institutional designs for specific contexts remains challenging when relying solely on real-world observations or laboratory experiments: they can be expensive, ethically and methodologically tricky, or too limited in scale to give us clear answers. Computational experiments offer a complementary approach, enabling researchers to conduct large-scale investigations while systematically analyzing complex dynamics, emergent and unexpected collective behavior, and risks or opportunities associated with novel democratic designs. Therefore, this paper explores Digital Twin (DT) technology as a computational testing ground for deliberative systems (with potential applicability to broader institutional analysis). By constructing dynamic models that simulate real-world deliberation, DTs allow researchers and policymakers to rigorously test "what-if" scenarios across diverse institutional configurations in a controlled virtual environment. This approach facilitates evidence-based assessment of novel designs using synthetically generated data, bypassing the constraints of real-world or lab-based experimentation, and without societal disruption. The paper also discusses the limitations of this new methodological approach and suggests where future research should focus. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_07138 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Replica for our Democracies? On Using Digital Twins to Enhance Deliberative Democracy Novelli, Claudio Sánchez-Vaquerizo, Javier Argota Helbing, Dirk Rotolo, Antonino Floridi, Luciano Multiagent Systems Computers and Society Emerging Technologies Deliberative democracy depends on carefully designed institutional frameworks, such as participant selection, facilitation methods, and decision-making mechanisms, that shape how deliberation performs. However, identifying optimal institutional designs for specific contexts remains challenging when relying solely on real-world observations or laboratory experiments: they can be expensive, ethically and methodologically tricky, or too limited in scale to give us clear answers. Computational experiments offer a complementary approach, enabling researchers to conduct large-scale investigations while systematically analyzing complex dynamics, emergent and unexpected collective behavior, and risks or opportunities associated with novel democratic designs. Therefore, this paper explores Digital Twin (DT) technology as a computational testing ground for deliberative systems (with potential applicability to broader institutional analysis). By constructing dynamic models that simulate real-world deliberation, DTs allow researchers and policymakers to rigorously test "what-if" scenarios across diverse institutional configurations in a controlled virtual environment. This approach facilitates evidence-based assessment of novel designs using synthetically generated data, bypassing the constraints of real-world or lab-based experimentation, and without societal disruption. The paper also discusses the limitations of this new methodological approach and suggests where future research should focus. |
| title | A Replica for our Democracies? On Using Digital Twins to Enhance Deliberative Democracy |
| topic | Multiagent Systems Computers and Society Emerging Technologies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.07138 |