ABOUT KOSMO

Digital platforms are important tools for the joint development of ideas and places for the exchange of political opinions. However, they require considerable human resources to moderate and evaluate the many contributions.
With KOSMO as an AI-supported assistance system, moderators and facilitators are proactively supported in ensuring the discussion quality of online debates. proactively. The prototype will be designed and developed as close as possible to practice and published under an open source license.
The following focal points will be set during development and testing:

• The reduction of moderation effort by providing an automated and comprehensive analysis of the quality of discussion contributions.

• The proactive support of moderators in responding to problematic and less argumentative contributions.

• An increase in the participation motivation of previously passive discussion observers.

• The modular implementation of a prototype under an open source license, which is tested in practice by various target groups.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - SUPPORT FOR MODERATION

One of the special features of the KOSMO platform is its built-in artificial intelligence (AI). The AI is designed as a supporting element: It automatically recognizes particularly relevant communication features within comments and thus substantially facilitates the speedy and accurate selection of comments. It recognizes

a) toxic comments,
b) comments that are valuable for the discussion, and
c) factual claims.

The AI passes this assessment on to the moderator via the moderation dashboard. The decision as to whether and how to respond to a comment then lies with the moderator. moderation. The moderator can then give the user specific feedback or highlight the comment. feedback or highlight the comment. The assistance system is thus a suggestion system, with the human being as the final authority in deciding how to react to contributions and which contributions are are toxic or supportive.

ADHOCRACY

KOSMO is based on the open-source participation software adhocracy, which is continuously developed by the non-profit association Liquid Democracy. It serves as the basis for the participation platforms adhocracy.plus and mein.berlin.de. KOSMO thus always stays up to date with the latest developments and at the same time can make use of functions of adhocracy, such as a map location or a text discussion. 

KOSMO builds on years of experience in the development and use of adhocarcy and is at the same time an innovative project that takes the software adhocracy further. Thus, KOSMO can draw on a variety of modules for participation projects, such as brainstorming or map location.
However, the focus remains on the discussion module, which has already been practically tested in several participation processes, among others in the context of the public participation of the Enquete Commission on Artificial Intelligence of the German Bundestag.

At the same time, KOSMO is independent of adhocracy in the sense that it provides an innovative playground for new developments, technical experiments and test scenarios. scenarios. For the first time we have connected an artificial intelligence to adhocracy for the first time - now we are testing how users react to the messages of comments comments by an artificial intelligence and to what extent they perceive this possibility. perceive this possibility. In a framework that has already been tested, we can try out new features and concretely test whether they have a positive effect on the deliberative quality of online discussions. deliberative quality of online discussions. In this sense, KOSMO combines proven with innovation.

GAMIFICATION

Gamification means applying elements from games in non-game contexts. Because games are great at motivating us and are fun. We understand gamification as the guiding principle of the KOSMO platform: It was purposefully designed so that the quality of relationships between participants, supported by moderators and the supported by moderators and the KOSMO AI. This is made possible by fast, direct feedback possibilities, a clear moderation dashboard, and an onboarding process that makes you want to try KOSMO!
The goal:
Good discussions, in which arguments are substantiated and participants really respond to each other. Come and discover new perspectives with us!

PROJECT TEAM 

Liquid Democracy e.V.

Liquid Democracy e.V. was founded in 2009 and is an innovative concept for liquefying rigid structures that limit our democracy. In concrete terms, this means: Liquid Democracy develops participation software for a wide range of partners: administrations at local and federal level, political parties and companies - but also international organizations or small local initiatives.
Liquid Democracy's work is based on the conviction that the system of representative democracy in its current state should allow for more direct participation. Liquid Democracy offers a solution by "liquefying" the barriers to more democratic participation as well as the boundaries between the governing and the governed. It does so by utilizing the potential of digitization to turn these ideas into reality. Participation is thus enabled regardless of location and time, and is efficiently and easily implemented through good design.

Institute for Participatory Design

In the midst of complex transformation processes, the Institute for Participative Design works with participants from civil society, business, politics, public administration and science to develop sustainable and sensible solutions for a common future - from urban development to digitalization, from community development to the shaping of to the design of democratic processes. To do this the IPG uses design-oriented, collaborative and co-creative methods. The goal is always to actively work on designs and not only to exchange points of view and opinions. Therefore the IPG accompanies small, large and very large groups in different constellations - like teams, companies, neighborhoods or cities - through these processes. Our team consists of people with the most diverse backgrounds. Landscape architects, philosophers, sociologists, designers, urbanists, business economists, and permaculture designers work hand in hand on transformation projects.

Düsseldorf Institut for Internet and Democracy // Heinrich-Heine-University

Founded in 2016 at Heinrich Heine University, the Düsseldorf Institute for Internet and Democracy (DIID) aims to analyze the potential of digitization for democratic innovations in politics, administration, business and civil society. To this end, the institute draws on the expertise of various disciplines, ranging from computer science, communication science, philosophy and political science to law and sociology. The institute's core competencies include basic scientific research, testing digital democratic innovations, evaluating digital participation processes, and communicating the scientific findings to society.

The DIID's research focuses in particular on online deliberation and participation, the effects of digital (political) communication and and participation, as well as the potential of automated analysis of online
online communication.