Thus AI expands the risks and possibilities of digital citizenship

Today, again at Franco Angeli, Machera proposes ‘Digital Citizenship Income’ which – as the subtitle explains – tries to evaluate ‘how artificial intelligence generates economic value for everyone’. In reality, to enjoy similar benefits, these ‘everyone’ should first of all be aware of them, bringing their digital experience to a higher level than that of messages on WhatsApp or posts on social media (and already around half of Italians have actually opted out of these possibilities). It’s not a question of devices, a mobile phone costing a few dozen euros is already capable of opening the doors of this world, but rather of being able to take advantage of what is a real ‘right to access’ and of being aware of one’s ‘digital citizenship’. Which is an elusive concept that can be delimited at a territorial level (as in the case of administrative services offered to the citizens of a certain nation, and only to them), supranational (think of the rich European legislation in this regard) or even global.

At the basis of this citizenship there is a problem of identity (by its nature, as happened in particular in the dawn of the Internet, the Internet offers unprecedented possibilities of camouflage, with the consequences of the case, often negative or even criminal): illustrating the considerations on the theme ‘Anonymity yes, anonymity no’ Machera opts for “a ‘certain’ identification of the users of the digital platforms, but using a service external to the platforms themselves”, a solution which in short does not allow direct identification of the users of a service but leaving traces that allow the authorities to recover the data of the authors of any infringements, or worse.

It is clear that the risk of digital control, already perfected in systems like the Chinese one, is around the corner, but it is equally true that constraints are needed to make the keyboard lions more ‘accountable’ of their declarations. The balance between the two extremes is difficult but necessary, taking into account that – the author writes – “to complete the scenario in which each of us is a citizen, and therefore subject to rights and duties, it is clear that… we need to be recognisable”.

Once this digital citizenship has been defined, Machera draws up a non-exhaustive list of the ‘income’ possibilities that derive from it, not all of which can be directly monetised but in any case with clear economic benefits: accessing with one click a boundless archive of classics evidently allows you to save on their purchase, but mainly has a positive impact on the cultural education of individual users.

This process has already been underway for decades but the refinement and diffusion of AI will only amplify it, posing new problems and suggesting new solutions. And here the word passes to individuals – invited to “not be too reluctant to be helped” by new technologies, but also to political decision-makers: in this agile and stimulating essay Machera draws the possibilities of the ‘new digital world’ but shuns the “naive” idea that “a system so articulated towards an optimal condition”. We are citizens but also consumers, remember, and the great benefits that come to us from certain free or almost free services derive from the fact that ‘if we don’t pay for the product, we are the product’. The important thing is the awareness of what our citizenship offers us and what it can take away from us. Then, as always, the choice is up to the individual.