KT4D Social Risk Toolkit Module B: AI, trust and awareness – Consequences of AI-based technologies for the quality of public deliberation

Public deliberation relies on a set of fragile cognitive and social conditions: access to shared information, mutual recognition between interlocutors, and the possibility of engaging with opposing views in a constructive manner. Digital platforms – and increasingly AI-based systems that curate, generate, and recommend content – have profoundly reshaped these conditions. While these technologies have expanded access to information and lowered barriers to participation, they have also transformed the dynamics of attention, visibility, and interaction that structure public debate.

This document examines how AI-driven content curation and recommendation systems affect the quality of public deliberation. Rather than focusing exclusively on misinformation or individual belief change, it analyses how emotionally charged content, polarisation dynamics, and choice architectures interact to shape communicative norms, mutual trust, and the capacity for collective reasoning. The goal is to identify not only the risks associated with current digital environments, but also the conditions under which AI-based technologies could support more reflective, inclusive, and constructive forms of public discourse.