Artificial intelligence is becoming an infrastructure of political communication rather than a discrete campaign tool. It affects how sustainability issues become visible, how publics are segmented, how institutions listen, and how political claims are verified. This article examines the relationship between artificial intelligence and the Sustainable Development Goals through a communication-centred perspective. A critical qualitative review of scholarship and institutional documents is combined with an illustrative comparative reading of three purposively selected cases: UNDP's NDC x SDG Insights, Decidim Barcelona, and the UNDP-UrbanistAI consultation in Skopje. The cases were chosen to represent data-to-narrative translation, the organization of civic input, and generative co-creation. The analysis supports a four-dimensional matrix based on visibility, voice, verifiability, and vulnerability. The analysis shows that automated systems can translate complex policy data into accessible narratives, support deliberation, and widen the reach of public communication. The same infrastructures can also fragment audiences, intensify political targeting, automate persuasive content, and erode trust through synthetic media and opaque moderation. Their democratic value therefore depends on disclosure, contestability, plural exposure, human oversight, and equitable access. Responsible governance should treat communication as a constitutive dimension of sustainable policy rather than a downstream exercise in dissemination.
From Civic Voice to Synthetic Influence: AI, SDGs, and the Future of Political Communication
Daniele Battista;Arthur Gugliucciello
2026
Abstract
Artificial intelligence is becoming an infrastructure of political communication rather than a discrete campaign tool. It affects how sustainability issues become visible, how publics are segmented, how institutions listen, and how political claims are verified. This article examines the relationship between artificial intelligence and the Sustainable Development Goals through a communication-centred perspective. A critical qualitative review of scholarship and institutional documents is combined with an illustrative comparative reading of three purposively selected cases: UNDP's NDC x SDG Insights, Decidim Barcelona, and the UNDP-UrbanistAI consultation in Skopje. The cases were chosen to represent data-to-narrative translation, the organization of civic input, and generative co-creation. The analysis supports a four-dimensional matrix based on visibility, voice, verifiability, and vulnerability. The analysis shows that automated systems can translate complex policy data into accessible narratives, support deliberation, and widen the reach of public communication. The same infrastructures can also fragment audiences, intensify political targeting, automate persuasive content, and erode trust through synthetic media and opaque moderation. Their democratic value therefore depends on disclosure, contestability, plural exposure, human oversight, and equitable access. Responsible governance should treat communication as a constitutive dimension of sustainable policy rather than a downstream exercise in dissemination.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
