scholarly journals Artificial intelligence for political decision-making in the European Union: Effects on citizens’ perceptions of input, throughput, and output legitimacy

Data & Policy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Starke ◽  
Marco Lünich
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Output Legitimacy

Abstract A lack of political legitimacy undermines the ability of the European Union (EU) to resolve major crises and threatens the stability of the system as a whole. By integrating digital data into political processes, the EU seeks to base decision-making increasingly on sound empirical evidence. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) systems have the potential to increase political legitimacy by identifying pressing societal issues, forecasting potential policy outcomes, and evaluating policy effectiveness. This paper investigates how citizens’ perceptions of EU input, throughput, and output legitimacy are influenced by three distinct decision-making arrangements: (a) independent human decision-making by EU politicians; (b) independent algorithmic decision-making (ADM) by AI-based systems; and (c) hybrid decision-making (HyDM) by EU politicians and AI-based systems together. The results of a preregistered online experiment (n = 572) suggest that existing EU decision-making arrangements are still perceived as the most participatory and accessible for citizens (input legitimacy). However, regarding the decision-making process itself (throughput legitimacy) and its policy outcomes (output legitimacy), no difference was observed between the status quo and HyDM. Respondents tend to perceive ADM systems as the sole decision-maker to be illegitimate. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for (a) EU legitimacy and (b) data-driven policy-making and outlines (c) avenues for future research.

Political Parties in the European Union

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Magnus Johansson ◽  
Tapio Raunio
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Commission President ◽  
National Governments

Media often portrays European Union (EU) decision-making as a battleground for national governments that defend the interests of their member states. Yet even the most powerful individuals, such as the German chancellor, the French president, or the Commission president, are party politicians. At the same time the consistent empowerment of the European Parliament (EP) means that the party groups of European-level “Europarties”—political parties at European level—are in a key position to shape EU legislation. The Parliament has also become more directly involved in the appointment of the Commission, with the results of EP elections thus influencing the composition of the Commission. Examining the “partyness” of European integration, this article argues that scholarly understanding of the role of parties in the EU political system has taken great strides forward since the turn of the millennium. This applies especially to the EP party groups, with research focusing particularly on voting patterns in the plenary. This body of work has become considerably more sophisticated and detailed over the years; it shows that the main EP groups do achieve even surprisingly high levels of cohesion and that the left–right dimension is the primary axis of contestation in the chamber. It nonetheless also emphasizes the continuing relevance of national parties that control candidate selection in EP elections. Considering that most votes in the Parliament are based on cooperation between the two largest groups, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the center-left Party of the European Socialists (PES), future research should analyze in more detail how these groups build compromises. Actual Europarties, however, remain relatively unexplored. Case studies of treaty reforms or particular policy sectors reveal how individual Europarties have often wielded decisive influence on key integration decisions or key appointments to EU institutions. The Europarty meetings held in conjunction with European Council summits are particularly important in this respect. The regular, day-to-day activities of Europarties deserve more attention, both regarding decision-making and vertical links between national parties and their Europarties. Overall, it is probably more accurate to characterize Europarties as networks of like-minded national parties or as loose federations of member parties, especially when compared with the often centralized and strongly disciplined parties found in the member states.

Public Opinion Toward Immigration in the European Union

2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1151-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gallya Lahav
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Demographic Trends ◽  
Mass Attitudes ◽  
The Eu

The literature on immigration has been divided with regard to the constraints, particularly of public opinion, on EU policy cooperation. Analysts have suggested that there is a disjuncture between public opinion and policy developments and that liberal immigration policies have emerged because negative public opinion is not factored into elite decision making or institutional developments. Comparing public opinion data derived from Eurobarometer surveys with demographic trends and EU initiatives, this article questions the “disjuncture” premises by evaluating the nature of mass attitudes and its impact on policy harmonization in the EU. In bridging the attitudinal-policy gap, the article assesses (a) the extent to which publics are ignorant or informed and (b) the distinct effects of personal versus general societal conditions as they motivate immigration attitudes and policy preferences. The conclusions have implications for immigration cooperation in the European Union, with policy outcomes that are more compatible with public attitudes.

scholarly journals Impact of Artificial Intelligence Research on Politics of the European Union Member States: The Case Study of Portugal

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6708 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Reis ◽  
Paula Santo ◽  
Nuno Melão
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
European Union ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Multimethod Research ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
The Impact

Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) is at the center of academic and public debate. However, its implications on politics remain little understood. To understand the impact of the AI phenomenon on politics of the European Union (EU), we have carried out qualitative multimethod research by performing a systematic literature review and a case study. The first method was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), in order to report the state-of-the-art in the existing literature and explore the most relevant research areas. The second method contained contributions from experts in data science and AI of the Portuguese scientific community. The results showed that solutions such as intelligent decision support systems are improving the political decision-making process and impacting the Portuguese society at local, regional, and national levels. We also found that practitioners and scientists are currently shifting their interests from environmental and biological sciences to healthcare services, which is bringing new challenges in terms of protecting patient/citizen data and growing concerns about handling of critical information. Future research may focus on comparative studies with other EU States to obtain a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the AI phenomenon.

ALGORITHMIZED DECISION-MAKING AND THE RIGHT TO INTERPRET IT

2021 ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
Elena Alferova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legitimate Interests ◽  
The Right ◽  
Data Subject

The problems of legality and transparency of decisions made using artificial intelligence, the implementation of the right to interpret them and challenge them in courts are considered. The article analyzes the legislation of the European Union and a number of developed countries that allows for the adoption of algorithmic decisions and provides for appropriate measures to protect the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the data subject.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence Research and Its Contributions to the European Union’s Political Governance: Comparative Study between Member States

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 207
Author(s):  
João Reis ◽  
Paula Santo ◽  
Nuno Melão
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Political Decision Making

In the last six decades, many advances have been made in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Bearing in mind that AI technologies are influencing societies and political systems differently, it can be useful to understand what are the common issues between similar states in the European Union and how these political systems can collaborate with each other, seeking synergies, finding opportunities and saving costs. Therefore, we carried out an exploratory research among similar states of the European Union, in terms of scientific research in areas of AI technologies, namely: Portugal, Greece, Austria, Belgium and Sweden. A key finding of this research is that intelligent decision support systems (IDSS) are essential for the political decision-making process, since politics normally deals with complex and multifaceted decisions, which involve trade-offs between different stakeholders. As public health is becoming increasingly relevant in the field of the European Union, the IDSSs can provide relevant contributions, as it may allow sharing critical information and assist in the political decision-making process, especially in response to crisis situations.

scholarly journals Cultural Influences on Artificial Intelligence: Along the New Silk Road

2021 ◽  
pp. 233-239
Author(s):  
Lynda Hardman
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
National Strategy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Key Technology ◽  
Applications Of Ai

AbstractApplications of AI, in particular data-driven decision-making, concern citizens, governments, and corporations. China was one of the first countries to have identified AI as a key technology in which to invest heavily and develop a national strategy. This in turn has led to many other countries and the European Union (EU) to develop their own strategies. The societal investments and applications of AI are so far-reaching that looking only at the resulting technological innovations is insufficient. Instead, we need to be aware of the societal implications of AI applications—of which there are many—as well as the geopolitical role of business and academic players.

The Law & Politics of Brexit: Volume II

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Financial Settlement ◽  
The Eu

This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the withdrawal agreement concluded between the United Kingdom and the European Union to create the legal framework for Brexit. Building on a prior volume, it overviews the process of Brexit negotiations that took place between the UK and the EU from 2017 to 2019. It also examines the key provisions of the Brexit deal, including the protection of citizens’ rights, the Irish border, and the financial settlement. Moreover, the book assesses the governance provisions on transition, decision-making and adjudication, and the prospects for future EU–UK trade relations. Finally, it reflects on the longer-term challenges that the implementation of the 2016 Brexit referendum poses for the UK territorial system, for British–Irish relations, as well as for the future of the EU beyond Brexit.

Delegation, Comitology, and the Separation of Powers in the European Union

2002 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Ballmann ◽  
David Epstein ◽  
Sharyn O'Halloran
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Theoretic Model ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Considerable Controversy ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
Council Of Ministers ◽  
The Eu

Although relatively unknown outside of Europe, comitology committees are an object of considerable controversy in the European Union (EU). Controversy stems from their pivotal role in overseeing policy implementation authority delegated from the Council of Ministers (Council) to the European Commission (Commission). In this article, we employ a game-theoretic model to analyze the influence of these, committees on policy outcomes. Our analysis provides three important insights. First, we show that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, comitology committees move outcomes toward the Commission's preferred policies rather than the Council's. Second, we demonstrate that the possibility of a Council veto may also move outcomes away from Council members' policy preferences and toward the Commission's. Third, the 1999 changes to the comitology procedures, designed to enhance the Commission's autonomy in policymaking, may have had the exact opposite effect. Paradoxically, we conclude that comitology serves to enhance the Commission's role in policy implementation and thereby strengthens the separation of powers within the EU.

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