From Imaginaries to Instruments: Algorithmic Imaginary Impact Assessments (AIIA) Across Policy Domains

Develop and pilot an Algorithmic Imaginary Impact Assessment (AIIA) that identifies dominant sociotechnical imaginaries within a policy domain, maps their risks and trade-offs, and mandates corresponding governance instruments such as transparency, oversight, and due process. AIIA codifies imaginaries as assessable dimensions and ties them to instrument bundles tailored to domain-specific narratives (e.g., disinformation imaginaries trigger content accountability; FinTech imaginaries trigger competition safeguards). This approach reduces policy incoherence, reveals hidden assumptions, and anchors governance choices in transparent value trade-offs. It is portable across domains including urban PPPs, education, and welfare algorithms. The impact includes regulators adopting AIIA as a mandatory step in algorithmic impact assessments and embedding “imaginary declarations” in PPP contracts and procurement templates linked to enforceable governance controls and citizen redress mechanisms.

References:

1. A feminist framework for urban AI governance: addressing challenges for public–private partnerships. Laine McCrory (2024). Data & Policy.
2. Big Data and algorithmic governance: the case of financial practices. M. Campbell-Verduyn, Marcel Goguen, T. Porter (2017).
3. Sociotechnical imaginaries of algorithmic governance in EU policy on online disinformation and FinTech. M. Wijermars, M. Makhortykh (2022). New Media & Society.