⚠️ Under development: inaccurate information shown.

Communities, Democracy & Society

Cohort 1

Cohort 2

Cohort 3

Supported by citizen-centred approaches.

AI is increasingly present in areas that shape how we live together — from managing public services and moderating online spaces, to influencing how communities are represented and heard. Yet many AI systems currently prioritise efficiency and scale over nuance, participation, and fairness. This can flatten cultural differences, reduce complex social issues to optimisation problems, and risk weakening rather than supporting democratic processes.

In this theme, you will explore how citizen-centred approaches can guide the design and deployment of AI so that it supports plural viewpoints, collective decision-making, and community agency. Rather than treating citizens as data sources or passive users, your research will consider them as co-designers, interpreters, and evaluators of AI systems.

Projects in this theme are likely to combine social, cultural, design and/or technical methods. You might, for example:

  • Investigate how interpretive and qualitative traditions in the humanities and social sciences can inform new AI models for democratic contexts.
  • Design human-AI decision-making processes that preserve citizen agency and avoid ‘black box’ governance.
  • Develop participatory and power-sharing methods that move beyond consultation to co-creation with communities.
  • Co-design AI systems with communities who are directly affected by data-driven decision-making, particularly those historically under-represented in technology design.
  • Create new evaluation frameworks for AI that value cultural reasoning, contextual sensitivity, and social wellbeing alongside accuracy or efficiency.

This theme is well-suited to applicants from diverse disciplinary backgrounds — including computing, HCI, design, social sciences, humanities, law, public policy, data science, STS, and cultural studies — who are interested in working collaboratively and reflexively across sectors.

Place-based and Regional Context

The North East provides a distinctive and timely environment for research on democratic and community-centred AI. Local authorities in the region — including Newcastle City Council, the North of Tyne Combined Authority, and the newly constituted North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NECA) — are actively developing strategies for responsible data use, digital public services, and community participation. These organisations are committed to experimenting with new governance models for AI in public services, making the region a national testbed for democratic innovation.

The North East AI Growth Zone, supported by NECA and national government, is accelerating the deployment of AI across health, policing, welfare, cultural institutions, and environmental services. This creates rich opportunities to study how AI systems are introduced into communities, how trust is built (or eroded), and how citizens can be meaningfully involved in shaping technology that affects their lives.

The region also contains communities disproportionately impacted by automated decision-making, including those affected by welfare algorithms and predictive policing. Through networks such as VONNE, the Trussell Trust, and Digital Safety CIC, students can work directly with communities who are often excluded from AI design processes — co-creating systems that reflect lived experience, local priorities, and diverse ways of knowing.

Relevant Partner Organisations

This theme benefits from partnerships spanning government, civil society, and industry. Your research could investigate transparency, accountability, and citizen participation through collaborations with Newcastle City Council, the North of Tyne Combined Authority, DWP, and local NHS organisations who are actively deploying AI systems in public services. Northumbria Police and Cleveland Police offer contexts for exploring algorithmic policing and community trust.

Pathways to engage marginalised communities emerge through partnerships with VONNE (supporting the voluntary sector), the Trussell Trust (addressing food poverty), and Digital Safety CIC. These relationships enable participatory research centred on communities most affected by algorithmic decisions. Meanwhile, collaborations with Ofcom, the National Cyber Security Centre, DSIT, and the Cabinet Office position your work to directly influence UK regulatory development.

Technical expertise and commercial perspectives complement this public interest research through partnerships with Google, Thoughtworks, Nokia Bell Labs, and Yoti, creating opportunities for critical dialogue between civic values and industry practice.

Cabinet OfficeCleveland PoliceDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyDepartment for Work and PensionsDigital Safety CICGoogleNational Cyber Security CentreNewcastle City CouncilNokia Bell LabsNorth East Combined AuthorityNorthumbria PoliceOfcomThoughtworksTrussell TrustVONNEYoti