The project 'Representative Bureaucracy in the Age of AI' combines two central perspectives from public administration research: Representative Bureaucracy and Digital Governance. The project focuses on the relevance of AI tools for different forms of representative bureaucracy: Active, passive, and symbolic representation.

Thus far, the effects of AI tools on the different forms of representation remain unclear. Furthermore, the literature lacks insights on the interplay of representation and AI tools on citizens’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours. We tackle these gaps by conducting a stepwise research approach.

Besides theoretical work aiming to provide an integrative framework, we intend to design and conduct several empirical studies. These studies will combine qualitative and quantitative insights on both street-level bureaucrats and citizens.

The project will contribute to both literature streams and will generate crucial insights into the relationship between government and society.

• artificial intelligence
• representative bureaucracy
• state and society