Polity Atlas
05 · Future Observatory

Watching society transform

Research, technology shifts, AI governance, post-labour economics and digital statehood — each item tagged with its status and the claims it changes.

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BriefingAI & the Future of Governance
Established

AI is everywhere in OECD governments; evaluation is not

The OECD Digital Government Outlook 2026 reports AI use in at least one government function in 35 of 36 surveyed countries, but only 10 report any evaluation.

2026-09-15 · AI & the Future of Governance

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2026-07-27BriefingEU AI Act timetable changes: high-risk rules move to 2027-2028Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (the Digital Omnibus on AI) entered into force on 27 July 2026. Annex III high-risk obligations now apply from 2 December 2027 and Annex I product-embedded systems from 2 August 2028.Established2026-03-10ResearchLessons from the Dutch childcare-benefits scandalA parliamentary inquiry found 'unprecedented injustice' in how tax authorities treated families suspected of fraud; the cabinet resigned in January 2021.Established2025-09-28NewsSwiss voters approve a state-issued e-ID by a narrow marginOn 28 September 2025 Swiss voters accepted the federal e-ID Act by 50.39% to 49.61%, four years after rejecting an earlier e-ID law that would have relied on private issuers.Swiss Federal Statistical Office / Federal Chancellery (Popular Votes Dashboard)Established2024-12-17BriefingUK makes algorithm transparency records mandatory for central governmentThe UK's Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard was mandated across government departments in February 2024; a scope and exemptions policy published on 17 December 2024 defines which bodies and tools must publish records.Established2024-09-05NewsFirst binding international treaty on AI opens for signatureThe Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law opened for signature on 5 September 2024 in Vilnius.Council of EuropeEstablished2024-08-01NewsEU AI Act enters into forceRegulation (EU) 2024/1689 entered into force on 1 August 2024. Many public-sector uses of AI, including in access to public benefits and the administration of justice, are classed as high-risk.Official Journal of the European UnionEstablished2023-12-07NewsEU court: an automated credit score can itself be an 'automated decision'In SCHUFA (C-634/21), decided on 7 December 2023, the Court of Justice held that an automated score can fall under GDPR Article 22 when a third party draws strongly on it for a contract decision.Court of Justice of the European UnionEstablished2023-07-07ResearchRobodebt: what a Royal Commission found about automated debt-raisingAustralia's Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme reported in July 2023 on a welfare-debt programme that relied on averaging annual income data.Established