How AI is shaping the EC2 democracy simulation?

From concept to a working simulation platform

The EuropeanCity2 project has reached an important milestone. A first working version of its simulation platform is now live and available online for project partners.

This platform allows researchers and partners to explore how different voting systems and citizen behaviours can influence democratic decision-making. It represents a key step in transforming theoretical concepts into practical tools that can be tested, validated and improved in real conditions.

Over the past months, the team has focused on turning the simulation design into a real software solution. Having a live platform already available has proven extremely valuable. It helps partners test ideas early, identify challenges that are not visible on paper, and align different teams around a shared environment.

This development directly supports the project’s broader ambition to build an advanced simulation ecosystem that combines social science and computational modelling to better understand and improve democratic processes.

Exploring democracy with AI and interactive tools

One of the most innovative aspects of the current work is the use of AI language models to generate realistic voter profiles.

The team developed a system where multiple AI agents collaborate in a structured way. One agent analyses demographic data of a selected country, another generates synthetic voter profiles, and a third verifies their accuracy and consistency. This approach makes it possible to simulate societies in a more realistic and dynamic way, reflecting how people think, behave and make decisions.

In addition to this, a visual replay tool has been introduced to make simulation results easier to understand. It works like a video player, allowing users to replay simulations step by step and observe how decisions evolve over time.

This significantly improves the interpretability of complex simulations and makes them more accessible not only to researchers, but also to policymakers and other stakeholders. Together, these developments show how the project is moving beyond theory and building tools that are both advanced and usable in practice.

What comes next and why it matters

The next phase of the project will focus on further development of the simulation environment. This includes introducing more complex agent behaviours, integrating the platform with other components of the project, and improving the overall user experience.

These steps are essential for delivering a robust tool that can support real-world applications. The ultimate goal of EuropeanCity2 is to provide new ways of analysing and testing democratic systems, including innovative approaches such as alternative voting mechanisms.

By combining artificial intelligence, simulation and social science, the project opens new possibilities for understanding how collective decisions are made. In the long term, this could help policymakers design more effective, inclusive and transparent democratic processes.