Rivista di Digital Politics

Giuseppe Micciarelli

Architettura e logica politica dei Digital twins: un approccio critico e prefigurativo

This article provides a reflection on the general architecture and political logic of Digital twins (Dt), when oriented towards supporting policy making. The extant literature on strategies to limit any negative effects of algorithmic democracy relies mainly on regulations or mechanisms such as codes of ethics, explicability reports and auditing. I will propose an alternative hypothesis, which is to foster political imagination through a methodology of political-legal hacking. This approach is not intended to compromise their objectivity and validation mechanisms; rather, its purpose is to extend their use and co-design to subjects other than decision-makers. To develop this hypothesis, the discussion will encompass the thresholds of ineliminable politicity involved in the displacement of Dt from the original techno-industrial field to that of policy making. The discussion will emphasis the potential risks associated with the objectivity and neutrality that data may project, potentially obscuring their partiality. The paper will emphasise the potential of a prefigurative approach, theorizing the consequences of Dt shifting its focus to the adoption (or non-adoption) of certain policies, and simulating the application of its alternatives. It will also highlight the difficulty of considering certain types of variables involved in this scenario. Finally, the paper will present a policy proposal that could serve as a prototype for this prefigurative strategy using Dt to simulate the ecological impacts of large-scale works, with the aim of producing new material to enhance the deliberative processes of public debate.

Francesco Amoretti, Serena Fraiese, Abdessamad Rhalimi

Integrating Digital twins in Morocco. Can innovation and tradition align?

This paper aims to map the primary areas of Digital twin (Dt) applications in Morocco, analysing the interpretive frameworks, discursive structures, and key actors involved. The hypothesis suggests that the deployment of Dt is shaped not only by technological and administrative priorities but also by Morocco’s constitutional culture, with the monarchy playing a crucial role in integrating religious and traditional values. This dualism suggests that Dt are not merely tools for enhancing public administration, infrastructure, and social programs, but also reinforce the legitimacy and accountability of Morocco’s political system, blending digital innovation with traditional religious values. Drawing on Vivien Schmidt’s discursive institutionalism, the study provides a theoretical framework to understand how Morocco’s constitutional culture influences the discourse surrounding Dt, merging tradition with modern governance. A mixed methodological approach will be employed, combining a literature review and semantic and textual analysis of academic papers, policy documents, and government reports. This review will explore Dt frameworks, identify opportunities and challenges, and apply Natural language processing to classify themes, trends, and socio-political impacts within Morocco’s digital transformation narrative.

KEYWORDS: Digital Twin Technologies, Moroccan Digital Transformation, Discursive Institutionalism, Islamic Ethical Principles, Moroccan Constitutional Culture

LEGGI QUI: https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.53227/116590

Luigi Rullo

Paths of Digital twins in the public sector. A systematic review of the social sciences literature

Digital twins (Dt) technology is a remarkable revolution of our time, with the potential to disrupt all aspects of the public sector, government, and society. Combined with the rapid advancement of algorithms and related innovative technologies such as Artificial intelligence (Ai), blockchain, and Machine learning, using Dt opens a new and wide range of opportunities for the public sector. This article provides a systematic literature review on Dt, mapping and exploring the existing social science literature, to specify the scope and the nature of the concept and analyze the operational definitions of Dt and the relevance of the concept. The article is structured as follows. First, using the Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (Prisma) method, it gives an overview of the search criteria and the sample of records. Second, it reflects critically on the historical development of the concept of Dt and highlights its basic elements and ambiguities, shedding light on the theoretical and empirical gaps in the existing literature. Third, it explores the main initiatives and applications of the use of Dt, and argues that political science has much to offer in advancing global understanding of this emerging technology.

KEYWORDS: Digital Twins, Public innovation, Prisma, Government, Political science, Politics, Social Sciences

LEGGI QUI: https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.53227/116592