IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2021 - 19

of others can stem from a clash of values, experiences,
fundamental beliefs, communications styles,
cognitive diversities, organizational incentives and
goals, or other mismatches.
Good process design actively seeks out diversity
and designs processes and interventions
which take seriously the views, perspectives, and
experiences of all stakeholders. Processes should
seek to be representative of all members of society
and consider explicitly hard to reach groups and
those who are expected to be impacted, a good
example being the recent U.K. Citizens Climate
Assembly [32].
Provide regular opportunity for self and
collective reflection
Reflection to respectfully uncover and share different
starting points can be done both individually
and collectively. Before solving specific issues or getting
into the technical design of a soft law, engaging
in a collective exploration of the governance context,
expectations, and values that form the starting
point for the approach can make all the difference.
An open and shared alignment may be sought on:
What underlying values are driving our approach?
What assumptions and perceptions about business,
civil society, and citizens may be influencing us?
What blind spots might we have? How do we know
we are right?
Design processes which foster cooperation
and mutual understanding, not polarization
and conflict
Problems often occur when there is a mismatch
in values, beliefs, and incentives between policy
aims, business goals, and those designing and
implementing the methods of governance and
wider society. Mistrust between individuals can be
rooted in seeing people as " other, " not " us " [33].
Improper process
designs can exacerbate
this
inclination, resulting in conflict, stand-offs, and
deadlock.
Instead, process designs could actively seek to
create mutual understanding, collaboration, and
cooperation and find areas of agreement whilst
ensuring respect for a diversity of perspectives and
experience, robustness of debate, and ensuring
all voices are heard. Proactively designing ways to
address disagreements, which are inevitable, should
also be incorporated [34].
December 2021
Design for " Goldilocks " transparency-the
right balance of openness and confidentiality
which facilitates sharing and builds external
trust whilst safeguarding information and the
personal privacy of participants
The trust of participants and external stakeholders
may hinge on the perceived and actual fairness
of the process and its outcome. Central to earning
this trust will be openness and transparency-not
just between those participating, but also in the
eyes of external stakeholders. Closed processes
fuel concern about capture by vested interests, but
" warts and all " transparency can make participants
reluctant to share opinions freely. Process designers
should agree in advance with participants the
desired approach to openness, transparency, and
communication.
Default to collaboration and cocreation
Collaborative governance must constantly strive
to include stakeholders whilst still maintaining focus
and momentum. Not an easy task. Central to this is
openness and clarity about definition of roles, dealing
with disagreements, what decisions must be
made together, and which can be shared or delegated.
If done well, these conditions can create an
environment where all stakeholders trust the intent
of others enough to collaborate and engage with the
societal issues posed by AI.
Things to avoid in methods of involving stakeholders
include presenting views in a binary way,
questions that are too simplistic, having experts who
are patronizing, or materials that are hard to understand.
Also detrimental is not having the people who
are going to be affected or who may have conflicting
views included in the process, and not having feedback
mechanisms that people can use, which leads
to a lack of trust.
Developing a trusted environment in which all
stakeholders are able to exchange knowledge and
views on the public interest, preferably early on an
AI innovation or application process is integral for
soft law credibility and legitimacy.
Evidence of trustworthiness-a new
approach to communications
AI, in its many forms, is in the public eye-as is
its governance. One of the biggest challenges for soft
law approaches to AI ethics more generally is that
the term AI ethics covers a massive range of issues;
19
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2021
