Alvaro Oleart on the instrumentalisation of EU participation processes & limits of AI for democracy

Alvaro Oleart is an academic researcher based in Brussels at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. His work focuses on social movements, EU participatory practices, democratic innovation, and the political economy of technology. In this conversation, he offers a critical perspective on citizen assemblies, arguing that they can depoliticize democracy when they bypass collective actors such as trade unions, political parties, civil society organizations, and social movements. We also discuss Big Tech, AI, the industry of participation, technology in deliberation, the agentic state, and why democratic innovation should focus more on collective power than on small groups of selected individuals. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider making a donation. It really helps us to sustain the podcast. PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7KCR9XBSCQVMG