Denmark's first political foresight experiment with young people
INVI is conducting a wild experiment because Denmark is committed to taking care of the future.
INVI has just completed the first part of the Danish Parliament's Wild Week, where we for the first time embarked on an experiment with young people at the center. The democratic task was to approach the topic of responsible artificial intelligence - a "born wild societal problem" that requires wild solutions and the courage to think long-term.
An empty chair in a negotiation room has often been used as a symbol of the right of future generations in decision-making processes. A locked chair in a negotiation situation can thus represent voices that have not yet been born or come of age. It has almost become a cliché in Danish politics to say that when we talk about the society of the future, we are talking about young people. But the reality is nonetheless clear: the choices we make today create the opportunities - and challenges - that future generations will have to live with.
Two days in an intense laboratory of the future is hard work, but there was also room for laughter and networking across the board.
The picture shows Agam Brusnan, AI Adoption Consultant at todai, together with Sara Inkeri Vardar, who works as a student assistant in the AI unit at JP/Politikens Hus.
Young people all around the table
On a frosty day in Copenhagen, INVI, in collaboration with the youth organization SAGA, gathered 15 young people and 11 practitioners for a policy lab at the Danish Design Centre (DAC). The mission was to explore responsible use of artificial intelligence and develop concrete future scenarios.
Instead of an empty chair for future generations, young voices sat at the table in the lab.
"There is beautiful music in being in a room like this filled with young people creating future scenarios to address wild societal problems," said Nicklas Larsen from Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies when he presented the method in INVI's policy lab.
His words captured the essence of the project: giving young people a voice in decisions that will shape their future.
The lab was attended by, among others, Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen, chairman of the Danish Parliament's Digitization Committee, technology explorer Christian Villum and forestry expert Nicklas Larsen. Together with the young people, they discussed questions such as:
What happens if AI becomes strictly regulated? And how do we ensure solutions that take into account the needs of future generations? What does the future look like if children lose their creative imagination? Big dilemma-filled questions about one of the biggest topics of our time filled the lab with big visions and a wealth of perspectives.
On Day 2, the groups got stuck into using AI to conceptualize their take on dilemmas they believe need to be addressed politically to ensure responsible AI in the future.
From right and clockwise around the table are: Jørgen Højlund Vibe (Student and CTO in a legal-tech start-up), Cecilie France Jarsmer (Cand. Public and freelance journalist), August Maigaard (Student and chair of Copenhagen Tech Policy Youth Committee), Magnus Lambæk Lund (Student and volunteer in SAGA), Eric Thyrgaard Jensen (Student assistant and personal assistant to the TECH ambassador) and Frederik Bøllingtoft (Student and employee in a digitalization company).
Exercising the democratic muscle
Around the tables, ideas and future scenarios were developed with post-its, brainstorms and straw thoughts that were visualized as possible futures in pictures and text. For the participants, it was not only about finding solutions, but also about practicing their democratic interaction with others who have insight into a topic:
"The parliament's wild week helped train your own democratic muscle. It was a democratic product in itself to participate. I hope we can continue the professional sparring in the future in a more low-key format," said Eric Thyrgaard, law student and intern in the office of the Danish Tech Ambassadors.
The experiment in the lab is the first step in a series of events in the project 'Folketingets Wild Week'. The next is a youth summit to be held on February 1, 2025, where INVI will gather 150 young people representing the Danish youth in the Common Hall at Christiansborg. Here, the youth will prioritize the scenarios and select which political statements will be tested and highlight what the young people will qualify as the most relevant for politicians to take care of.
What does the future of AI look like? In the lab, young people and practitioners developed a joint mapping of the signals that influence the question of how we develop responsible AI towards 2040.
The final step is a live political vote that will take place on March 18, 2025. Here, a panel of decision-makers consisting of members of the Danish Parliament's Digitalization and IT Committee will evaluate the political statements in front of an audience of 300 young people in Fællessalen. An event that opens with a speech by the Minister for Digitalization, Caroline Stage.
The format is inspired by Løvens Hule, so it can communicate the processes of government to young people in an engaging way. The Danish Parliament's Wild Week is an example of how we can bring foresight into Danish politics. It's not just about talking about the future - it's about acting on it, which the Danish government has just signed up to do.
Lisbeth Bech Nielsen, Chairman of the Danish Parliament's Committee for Digitalization and IT, visited the lab on day 1. She attended to brief the participants on what the committee is currently discussing about AI and to show her support for the project. She emphasized that Christiansborg is not only ready to listen to young people's contributions, but they need them.
The picture shows Lisbeth Bech Nielsen on the left and INVI's Head of Communications Tine Maria Borresø on the right.
Foresight is on the big political blade
At the UN General Assembly, UNGA79, in September, the future was at the top of the agenda. A new Charter for the Future was adopted and the world got its first Commissioner for the Future. The agreement was described as a "generational contract" to connect today's decision-makers with future generations.
For the first time, foresight - the ability to develop and work with future scenarios - was recognized as a key method for political decision-making. This means that all member states, including Denmark, have been taught a lesson: we must not only think about what is possible now, but also how to ensure a fair future for future generations. Foresight is a method for this.
Denmark lags behind in foresight
Although foresight is gaining ground internationally, Denmark is lagging behind. One of the questions is, how can we create sustainable climate plans, reforms or technology strategies without involving the generations that will have to live with the consequences?
With the start of the Danish Parliament's Wild Week, INVI wanted to show how we can develop policies that ensure a responsible use of artificial intelligence in Denmark. Because working with futures and foresight is still a rather blank slate in Danish politics.