Building Trustworthy AI for Democracy: From EU Principles to Local Action

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a futuristic concept. It increasingly shapes how we live, work, and participate in society. Recognising both the opportunities and the risks, the European Union has taken bold steps to set clear rules and principles for AI development and use. From the AI Act to the Digital Services Act and the Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, the EU is establishing a global benchmark for trustworthy, human-centric AI.

At the same time, projects like ITHACA are bringing these values to life in practice – testing how AI can strengthen democracy and civic participation at the local level.

Europe’s Framework for Trustworthy AI

The EU has developed a comprehensive set of policies and laws to ensure AI serves people and protects fundamental rights:

AI Act (2024) – the world’s first comprehensive AI law, banning harmful AI systems, setting strict rules for high-risk areas such as healthcare or elections, and requiring transparency and human oversight.
Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI – outlining the principles of fairness, accountability, inclusivity, and transparency.
Digital Services Act (DSA) – creating safer and more accountable online spaces by requiring platforms to limit disinformation, provide algorithmic transparency, and protect user rights.
Democracy Alive 2025 Summit – underlining the importance of digital innovation that amplifies citizens’ voices rather than replacing them.
European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles – committing to a fair, inclusive, and safe digital transformation where no one is left behind.

Together, these initiatives show Europe’s vision: AI must be ethical, safe, transparent, inclusive, and accountable.

How ITHACA Brings These Principles to Life

While legislation sets the rules, real change happens when principles are tested in practice. The ITHACA project is doing just that.

We are developing and piloting a human-centric AI platform for civic participation in two European cities – Martin (Slovakia) and Brașov (Romania). The platform aims to:

Enable citizens to deliberate and co-create policies with local governments.
Develop methods and tools to enhance explainability, fairness, and transparency in how algorithms process citizens’ input.
Introduce safeguards such as privacy-preserving machine learning and cybersecurity measures to better protect citizens.
Pay special attention to the needs of vulnerable groups, ensuring that inclusivity and equality are embedded from the start.

Our approach is “ethics by design”: embedding fairness, privacy, and accountability directly into the algorithms, rather than treating them as afterthoughts.

Why It Matters

In an era when digital technologies are reshaping public life, trust is the foundation of democracy. Citizens need confidence that the tools shaping decision-making processes are transparent, fair, and respectful of their rights.

By combining the EU’s strong regulatory vision with hands-on experimentation in local contexts, ITHACA shows how AI can become a positive force for democracy – opening new spaces for dialogue, strengthening participation, and building more resilient communities.