Project Leader: Prof. Dr. hab. Maciej Serowaniec
Digital transformation is one of the most significant challenges facing contemporary public institutions. In an era of rapid technological progress, public administration and government structures increasingly implement digital tools—ranging from artificial intelligence and blockchain to advanced big data analytics and automated decision-making systems. These changes carry the potential to fundamentally reshape the functioning of the state, promising greater efficiency, transparency, and enhanced citizen engagement in governance processes. However, with these opportunities come serious risks: inequalities in access to services, threats to privacy, lack of algorithmic transparency, and erosion of public trust.
The DIGI-GOV research project undertakes the ambitious task of analyzing these challenges and opportunities in a comprehensive and interdisciplinary manner. Its primary aim is to understand how public institutions in democratic systems adapt to digital realities and what implications this has for legitimacy, accountability, and social justice. The project assumes that effective digitalization requires not only technological innovation but also institutional reflection that takes into account political, legal, social, and ethical conditions.
Special attention is given to the ethical issues associated with the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence in public governance. The project investigates the extent to which data-driven decisions can reproduce existing biases or generate new forms of exclusion. Social trust, privacy protection, and digital security are also central concerns, regarded as fundamental for stable and responsible governance. DIGI-GOV further examines the impact of digital transformation on state–citizen relations: whether digital technologies genuinely enhance citizen participation and transparency or merely create an illusion of involvement, while simultaneously exacerbating digital exclusion.
The project plans a comparative analysis of different digital governance models in democratic countries, identifying factors that contribute to success or failure in implementing technological innovations. Findings from these studies will inform recommendations for public policy and institutional strategies, aiming to maximize the benefits of digitalization while minimizing associated risks.
DIGI-GOV contributes a new dimension to the debate on the future of public administration, proposing a vision of governance that is not only modern but, above all, inclusive, ethical, and democratically grounded.