Behind the scenes of the first citizens' convention on Artificial Intelligence in Montpellier

40 citoyens ont défini la trajectoire numérique de la Métropole. M3M – Ludovic Séverac

Forty citizens and as many experts met over three weekends, from November to January, to think about how the Metropolis can take advantage of this technology.

This is a first in France. Forty Montpellier residents met three times within the citizens' convention initiated last November by the Montpellier Metropolis. This participatory consultation aims to determine the directions of Artificial Intelligence (AI), prioritize them and work on the issues and conditions for its implementation in the territory. "This approach is a democratic exercise which weaves a high-level dialogue between experts, elected officials and citizens in resolving current challenges around AI", announced the president of the Metropolis of Montpellier, Michaël Delafosse, during the launch of the convention on November 10.

S’acculturate to the subject, first ambition of the convention

Among the forty citizens drawn at random by an external organization, most have no knowledge of artificial intelligence. The few young people present in the assembly appear as experts through their daily use of ChatGPT.

But that’s the whole point of this convention, "there is a committee of experts, present to carry out educational work throughout the reflection process", explains Manu Reynaud, elected in charge of digital in the metropolis. Among them, big names such as Cédric Villani, in charge of the parliamentary report on AI, Arnault Loualalen, CEO of the Numalis company and expert with the European Union, but also local pioneers like Anne Laurent, vice-president of the University of Montpellier and delegate for data sciences who has, for several months, been leading a relentless policy on acculturation to AI among the city's students.

Presentations made, let's move on to questions. Some wonder what elected officials expect of them, others are already putting their foot down by pointing out the fears surrounding this new technology. "AI is absolutely everywhere. It’s completely natural to ask questions, tries to reassure Jacques Priol, president of Data Publica and present as a technical speaker, everything that is recommended to us, whether it concerns rsquo;a purchase or an advertisement, results from the data collected and a model built by AI for example.

Structuring an opinion, with concrete cases

Other challenges of this initiative, understanding that AI is already… hellip; everywhere. And on this evening of the second weekend of discussion, the practical case is provided by the neighboring city of Toulouse, which has recently used an algorithm to regulate the meals of the city's 35,000 students. "We set up a big data platform (bringing together a large number of data Editor's note) which uses the number of registered people, the day of the week, the school term or even the holidays to define how many there will be children per school who eat in the canteen,” explains Sandrine Mathon, head of the Data Engineering department at Toulouse Métropole. Imagined by students from the pink city, this system would have allowed the 5th largest city in France to halve its production surpluses since the system was put in place.

But when Anne, 34, member of the citizens' convention, reminds him of the danger of the collection and use of certain data by local authorities, and in particular the collection of information from minors, it is a new discussion, without tongue-in-cheek, which takes place in the Métropole council room.

Please grant in order to provide notice

After exactly 33 hours and 30 minutes of questions and debates, not counting the countless hours spent reading, watching, listening and touching AI and its tools, these Montpellier residents will submit their opinion. This document of several dozen pages, written according to the advice of the participants, will be given to the elected officials in charge of the issue at the next metropolitan council on February 13. "This first citizens' convention is a real success. Montpellier residents were able to give their opinion with the greatest freedom, with all the keys to responding to the problems posed by all of the country's citizens, welcomes the Metropolis. Same observation among the members of the convention: "We have this feeling of participating in something useful", concludes Anne.
 

Close-up on the workshops:

A strict collaborative framework

"Debate all ideas" : this is the watchword of this citizens’ convention. Debate everything, perhaps, but not under any conditions. "You will have to seek out information, be attentive and above all not pass judgment on other people’s questions", explain the moderators present during the three meetings you of the convention. "Sometimes the questions that seem the stupidest can lead to interesting thoughts.

Frescoes remind you of these rules in each corner of the room. These same frescoes are updated daily by the moderators present for this convention. "We keep a written record of all exchanges, all thoughts". AI is water, AI in the political sphere… Each theme is drawn, sketched, pinned on the walls of the council room. "It’s a way to have everything at your fingertips, to cross-reference information in the blink of an eye".

 

"More justice thanks to AI"

"AI could be a valuable tool for improving speed, fairness and social justice in housing allocation processes, for example. But its complexity could be the source of a new digital divide, worries Dominique. Here, the reliability and settings of AI are highlighted as both benefits and fears. Indeed, AI could be a real source of fairness in the prioritization of files, objectivity and equality of opportunity. Questions still arise about the machine's ability to adjust in the event of an unforeseen event, the processing of complex cases and its algorithmic biases. To work on the subject, the participants are divided into groups of 5 to 6. For an hour, they can discuss the different visions surrounding data issues and their use by the community. "We will operate in an inverted pyramid. Start from the subject of the data and refine it as the discussion progresses, explains Abel, visibly leader of the group.

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