Key challenges for the participatory governance of AI in public administration

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in government operations, retaining democratic control over these technologies is becoming ever more crucial for mitigating potential biases or lack of transparency. However, while much has been written about the need to involve citizens in AI deployment in public administration, little is known about how democratic control of these technologies works in practice. This chapter addresses this gap through participatory governance, a subset of governance theory that emphasizes democratic engagement, in particular through deliberative practices. We begin by introducing the opportunities and challenges that AI use in government poses. Next, we outline the dimensions and developments within the theory of participatory governance and introduce an exploratory framework which can be adopted in the AI implementation process. Finally, we explore how these considerations can be applied to AI governance in public bureaucracies. We conclude by outlining future directions in the study of AI systems governance in public administration.