Humanity tokens

Horizon 2025

In 2026, algorithms and artificial intelligence have taken off in public administrations. To make them visible is to implicitly reveal where the human is.

Before starting their administrative procedures, the user can now visualise their request process. In a transparency logic supported by the state, they thus discover which steps are carried out by humans or by machines, be it algorithms or artificial intelligence.
Users can reconfigure this administrative process using ‘humanity tokens’.

Those tokens allow to adjust human and machine involvement for each of its steps. In other words, it is possible to assign the humanity or the algorithmics for each stage of the process.

Each user gets a limited number of ‘human’ and ‘machine’ tokens each year. This number is defined according to their profile, whether they are identified as digitally literate or whether they experience issues with the digital realm.

— The humanity tokens annual statement

A woman holding the booklet of her annual Humanity Tokens statement
Front cover of the Humanity Tokens booklet
Internal pages of the Humanity Tokens booklet

For a pleasant reading, you can download this design fiction.

— The setup of an administrative procedure with one’s tokens

Setup screen for an administrative procedure, suggesting to assign human and machine tokens at each step of the procedure
Monitoring screen of a personalised administrative procedure, with assigned human and machine tokens

Let’s debate about this future!

This scenario deserves to be discussed, disputed or even enriched.
We propose three participatory activities and tools to collectively debate about this scenario.