Ann Borda

Against the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of the original Turing Test devised by mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing in 1950, this reflection considers a reconceptualization of that famous “imitation game”. Researchers have long noted limitations of the Test, which focuses on a computing machine’s ability to imitate our intelligence and to effectively fool people that the machine is a human. Crucially, the design of the Test to measure intelligence against the standard “human” kind remains fraught and risks excluding diverse intelligences, not only the of human variety, but also the many nonhuman intelligences found in Nature. In the accelerated use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to imitate standard human intelligence and human-centric values, we are at risk of losing a deeper understanding of nonhuman intelligences existing in Nature. In a not-so-distant future, Nature might, for example, become largely defined by an AI with anthropocentric ideals. We thus propose the idea of a Turing Test for Nature that can provide an ethical basis and metric to critically determine whether AI systems accurately represent nonhuman intelligences and values found in Nature. Such a Test would also highlight not only more-than-intelligences, but the positioning of ourselves in the complex co-existence with Nature on which human flourishing depends.

Engaging citizens with digital technology to co-create data, information and knowledge has widely become an important strategy for informing the policy response to COVID-19 and the ‘infodemic’ of misinformation in cyberspace. This move towards digital citizen participation aligns well with the United Nations’ agenda to encourage the use of digital tools to enable data-driven, direct democracy. From data capture to information generation, and knowledge co-creation, every stage of the data lifecycle bears important considerations to inform policy and practice. Drawing on evidence of participatory policy and practice during COVID-19, we outline a framework for citizen ‘e-participation’ in knowledge co-creation across every stage of the policy cycle. We explore how coupling the generation of information with that of social capital can provide opportunities to collectively build trust in institutions, accelerate recovery and facilitate the ‘e-society’. We outline the key aspects of realising this vision of data-driven direct democracy by discussing several examples. Sustaining participatory knowledge co-creation beyond COVID-19 requires that local organisations and institutions (e.g. academia, health and welfare, government, business) incorporate adaptive learning mechanisms into their operational and governance structures, their integrated service models, as well as employing emerging social innovations.