CONCEPT
AI Impact Assembly
Fung's proposed municipal-level mechanism: a standing body of randomly selected citizens, stratified for demographic representativeness, that deliberates continuously on the local implications of AI deployment.
The AI Impact Assembly is Fung's proposal for empowered participatory governance at the municipal level. It adapts the citizens' assembly format (Ireland, France, Canada) to the specific challenges of ongoing AI governance. The Assembly is standing rather than ad hoc, reflecting the continuous nature of AI governance; members serve staggered terms (approximately eighteen months, one-third rotating every six months) to balance institutional knowledge with fresh perspectives. It has access to a dedicated technical translation team whose function is not to simplify but to connect AI's technical features to their community implications. And it possesses formal investigative powers — authority to request information from companies operating within the municipality, hear testimony from affected workers and communities, and commission independent research. These powers give the Assembly genuine governance weight within the municipal system.
In The You On AI Field Guide
The design responds to three specific challenges AI governance poses to deliberative institutions. The speed constraint: AI capabilities advance on timescales of months, requiring standing bodies rather