Send message to Authors

Short abstract:

Departing from the perspective of people involved in the Lisbon Intelligent Management Platform and official state narratives, the paper reflects on expectations of the deployment of ADM in urban data management and the promotion of collective welfare at the city level.

Long abstract:

The Lisbon Intelligent Management Platform (PGIL) gathers databases from different origins, providing the Lisbon City Council and other public services dashboards to work with. PGIL, therefore, is a data integration platform that supports activities performed by civil defense, fire brigade, and public security officials. As part of the AUTO-WELF project, the platform has been explored as a case study to understand data analysis and automation deployment to promote collective welfare. In this context, the paper combines findings of the interviews carried out in September-October 2023 with the platform team and official document analysis to address views and expectations concerning Automated Decision-Making (ADM) in urban data management, exemplifying how infrastructures of welfare may be materialized in a city of a Southern European country. To conduct such an analysis, the paper mobilizes Feminist STS and critical data studies, in addition to the “right to the city” concept, with the purpose of contributing to the discussion around a scenario that has multiplied throughout Europe. Although ADM is not deployed in PGIL, narratives on the possibility of using it emerged in the interviews and documents, as an expectation desired for the platform’s future or a next step to be accomplished. Thus, departing from the perspective of people involved in the development of systems of this kind and official state narratives, the empirical information addressed in the paper helps us think about algorithms and welfare at the city level, also considering citizens’ needs and priorities.