Matthew DiGiuseppe receives NWO XS grant for research on AI governance
Matthew DiGiuseppe, Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University, has been awarded an NWO XS grant for his project ‘Political Polarization and Public Support for AI Governance’. The project examines whether growing political polarisation affects citizens’ willingness to accept decision-making by artificial intelligence in government.
Why might citizens accept government by artificial intelligence? DiGiuseppe’s research proposes that the answer lies not in AI capabilities but in distrust among humans. As governments increasingly use AI for consequential decisions—from welfare eligibility to resource allocation—public acceptance becomes critical for democratic legitimacy. Through survey experiments fielded in Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain, this project tests whether citizens prefer AI decision-makers when the alternative is governance by political opponents.
If polarization drives AI adoption, this raises troubling questions: democracies may delegate authority to algorithms not because AI governs well, but because citizens mistrust each other to govern. The grant will build on his ongoing research with co-authors Dr. Katrin Paula and Dr. Tobias Rommel of Technical University of Munich.
About Matthew DiGiuseppe
DiGiuseppe is an Associate Professor of Political Science whose research focuses on public opinion, political behaviour and international political economy. His work focuses on the role of information, morality, and economic interests form preferences of international economic policy and artificial intelligence.
About the NWO
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) is the leading funding organization for scientific research in the Netherlands. It supports a wide range of disciplines, from the humanities to natural sciences, by financing innovative projects and fostering collaboration between researchers. The XS grants, part of NWO’s Open Competition, are specifically designed to support pioneering ideas in their early stages, giving researchers the opportunity to explore novel concepts and push the boundaries of their fields.