Denizen

This episode citizen’s assemblies, which are similar to jury duty, but for policy. Over the course of several months, a representative group of everyday citizens comes together to understand and deliberate issues, ultimately making policy recommendations. They’re very compelling as a compliment to traditional policy making processes, as citizens do not face the incentive challenges that elected officials do.

Citizen’s assemblies have been gaining traction around the world for the last decade, and our guest Claudia Chwalisz is at the forefront of this work. We cover the basics, but then we also get into things at her frontier, such as how technology and AI can improve the process, how citizen’s assemblies might help us regulate AI, and moving beyond human-focused governance models.

Resources:

• DemocracyNext website: https://www.demnext.org/
• DemocracyNext's Citizen Assembly Guide
• OECD Report: Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions
• Valuing Uncertainty and Curiosity: Lessons from physics for politics
• Tech Enhanced Citizen's Assemblies: Toward a more healthy and constructive democracy
• More than Human Governance Experiments in Europe (Claudia’s paper)

Specific Examples:

• How A Permanent Assembly in Paris passed a bill into law (July 2024)
• In Oregon assembly, Americans show another kind of politics is possible (Oct 17, 2024)
• The French Citizens' Assembly on End of Life, Explained
• How Ireland Transformed Democracy with Citizens’ AssembliesIn Their Own Words: Deschutes County, Oregon USA Civic Assembly Members

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