Workshop by Nils Ehrenberg, Uttishta Varanasi, Rūta Šerpytytė, and videos by Emilia Tapprest
Introduction
This workshop toolkit is built around a series of short videos that invite the viewers to reflect on the systemic and ethical challenges of developing digital public services. In these vignettes, we have translated interviews with researchers into narrative provocations. The videos are based on interviews with eight different researchers working with digital public services. They were invited to reflect on the challenges related to artificial intelligence, digitalisation, public services, and migrants living in Finland.
Developed as part of the Trust-M project, this workshop toolkit is intended to help shift the focus from technical solutions and towards conversations about relational and caring practices. We ask who is being served, how we experience emerging technologies and services, and what kind of work is shaping them.
The toolkit consists of three videos, along with a series of proposed questions. We encourage users to appropriate the material by developing their own questions or use ours.
If you also want to get in touch with us about the workshop toolkit, we would love to hear from you.
You are welcome to use the videos however you see fit.
Pre-Workshop and Post-Workshop questionnaires:
links coming soon
Proposed Workshop Format
The toolkit is designed for a shorter workshop to start the day or as a smaller exercise as part of a longer session. For each video we estimate ~20 minutes including reflection and discussion, or 1 hour for all three videos.
- Show Video (2-3 minutes)
- 5 min reflection around question (we suggest post-it notes)
- 10 min discussion
We suggest picking one question per video, either from our list or one that you feel is appropriate for your activity. We also encourage you to tailor the workshop for your purposes.
Videos
The project graveyard
In ‘The Project Graveyard’ we reflect on the maintenance work of digital innovation in public service development, inviting the viewers to reflect on failure and continuity.
Sample Questions
Initiatives often continue beyond project timelines through people and practices.
- How can we extend and sustain the ideas, insights, motivation, and goals of a project beyond its funding period?
- Share some stories from the time your project ended up in the project graveyard?
- How would you prepare if you knew your project was going to end in the graveyard?
Algorithmic whispers
‘Algorithmic Whisperers’ is a scenario in which we reflect on how the behaviour of these AI agents is shaped, not only through the interaction with the service users but also by human intervention and the tensions between contextual data and data privacy.
Sample Questions
Many hallucinations arise from uncoordinated interventions. Reducing them relies on providing more context, yet this may compromise privacy and integrity.
- Where can you embrace and resist AI in digital inclusion and integration?
- Has your institution ever implemented or used technology to mediate communication between itself and its users? Share how the project unfolded.
- How to balance between privacy (providing more personal data) and getting a more accurate service (minimizing false statements)?
- Who should have access to the data? Which systems should (or should not) interact between each other?
A balancing act
‘The Balancing Act’ invites the viewer to reflect on the use of data in public service and how service users might experience interactions with public AI agents. What kind of data sharing practices do we accept, even between public services?
Sample Questions
AI-supported interactions can adapt to users through continuous negotiations.
- What kind of relationships emerge between residents, institutions, and technology?
- How to develop human-centred services without (overly) humanising AI?
- Should public services be proactively suggesting different services for residents? What could be the benefits and drawbacks of such an approach?
- How do we balance responsibilities of data privacy with efficient, data-driven public services?
Contact
If you have any questions you can contact us:
Nils Ehrenberg (nils.ehrenberg@uwasa.fi)
Johanna Ylipulli (johanna.ylipulli@uwasa.fi)