A Replica for our Democracies? On Using Digital Twins to Enhance Deliberative Democracy

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2504.07138v2
• Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2025 23:11:07 GMT
• Title: A Replica for our Democracies? On Using Digital Twins to Enhance Deliberative Democracy
• Authors: Claudio Novelli, Javier Argota Sánchez-Vaquerizo, Dirk Helbing, Antonino Rotolo, Luciano Floridi,
• Abstract summary: This paper explores Digital Twin (DT) technology as a computational testing ground for deliberative systems.<n>By constructing dynamic models that simulate real-world deliberation, DTs allow researchers and policymakers to rigorously test "what-if" scenarios.
• Score: 0.41942958779358663
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
• Abstract: 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.

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