This book is an interdisciplinary collection of works that examines the intersection between public governance and emerging digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. Published by Springer in 2025 as an open access publication, the book is supported by the Netherlands Research Council (NWO) under the project “The Role and Responsibilities of Public Actors in Distributed Networks” (p. 4). Thematically, the book is divided into three main parts: (I) Governance: By and of technology, which discusses how technology is used in public governance and how it is regulated; (II) Regulatory compliance, which analyzes the alignment of existing legal frameworks with technological developments; and (III) Public trust and values, which focuses on public values and trust as normative foundations (p. 9). The editors propose a sociomaterial approach that recognizes that technology, social practices, culture and material aspects are inseparable from one another (p. 8). This book starts from the recognition that public authority is no longer exercised unilaterally, but through a governance network involving public and private actors, which gives rise to value tensions between efficiency, transparency, accountability and trust.
The editors come from leading academic institutions in the Netherlands. Jürgen Goossens is a lecturer at the School of Law, Utrecht University. Esther Keymolen is also based at Utrecht University. Antonia Stanojević is a researcher at Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University. All three are involved in the NWO project, which examines the roles and responsibilities of public actors in distributed networks. The contributors to this book come from a wide range of disciplines, including public administration, sociology, political science, computer science, law, philosophy and science and technology (p. 9). Notable contributors include Primavera De Filippi (an expert on blockchain and law), Sofia Ranchordás (an expert on vulnerability and digital governance), Morshed Mannan, Balázs Bodó and Wessel Reijers. This diversity is a major strength of the book, as each chapter offers a different yet complementary perspective.
Chapter 1 presents a typology of strategies used by Dutch municipalities in adopting algorithmic systems. Based on a four-year qualitative study, Wieringa identifies two main axes: the speed of adoption (fast vs. slow) and the degree of awareness in allocating resources to responsible algorithms (more or less conscientious). From these two axes emerge four archetypes: frontrunners, fast fashionistas, conscientious cat-observers and slowpokes (pp. 38–41). In Chapter 2, Lazarotto riffs on the efficiency-focused narrative of “smart government” with a shift in focus to the citizen perspective. The chapter analyzes the compatibility of the digitalization of public services with the right to good administration as guaranteed in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (pp. 52–53). The author proposes a multi-layered protection framework encompassing design systems, civil servant training and rights codification procedures (pp. 54–55). The chapter also reflects on how the recently adopted AI Act could be part of the solution, despite its limitations in redress mechanisms. The example of SyRI in the Netherlands serves as a powerful illustration of the dangers of opaque condition detection systems (p. 58).
Chapter 3 offers a thorough critique of the assumption that Expectable AI (XAI) automatically increases trust and use of AI. Using empirical studies from the Dutch Police Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (five studies, 478 police officers), the authors demonstrate that XAI is not a “silver bullet” (p. 80). A key concept introduced is appropriate reliance, an appropriate response to AI recommendations that neither sends stubborn rejections nor blind acceptance (p. 65). An interesting finding: police officers are more susceptible to confirmation bias (the tendency to accept recommendations that align with their professional judgment) than to automation bias (overreliance on AI) (p. 73, 76). The presented contextual model (p. 77, Fig. 1) identifies technological, task and individual factors that influence appropriate reliance.
Chapter 4 examines the institutionalization of governance in the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) through the creation of Europeum, an EDIC. Using isomorphism theory from sociological organizations (DiMaggio & Powell), Tan and Du Seuil explain why emerging forms of governance tend to mimic traditional bureaucratic structures rather than decentralized models like decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) (pp. 96–99). Chapter 5, highly technical but relevant, discusses two cryptographic innovations in Belgium to aggregate data used across multiple organizations (diabetes and cancer cases in multiple sclerosis patients). The authors introduce eHealth translator and LetheLink as privacy-by-design solutions that minimize reliance on trusted third parties (pp. 110–117).
Chapter 6 serves as a bridge between Parts I and II by asking a fundamental question: How do we (re)gain control over digital practices? Prainsack identifies three causes of regulatory failure: lobbying, limited imagination (the inability to envision alternatives beyond the existing system) and the dominance of a fair market competition framework (pp. 134–136). The solution offered is a three-tier model: (1) individual control over personal data, (2) collective control at the community level through common ownership and (3) national control over digital infrastructure treated as public infrastructure like railways (pp. 140–145). The chapter also proposes new rights such as the right to human contact and the right to invisibility (pp. 137–138). Chapter 7 introduces the concept of regulatory equivalence as an evolution of functional equivalence, which is well known in technology law. While functional equivalence equates new artifacts with old artifacts (e.g. electronic signatures with wet signatures), regulatory equivalence aims to align technological guarantees with the policy objectives underlying legal rules (p. 152, 157–159).
Chapter 8 provides a comprehensive analysis of Algorithmic Impact Assessment (AIA) as an accountability mechanism for AI use in the public sector. The chapter identifies five objectives of AIA: information, risk assessment, cost-benefit weighting, public participation and accountability (pp. 187–192). A comparison of the AI Act (EU) and the Brazilian AI Bill shows that while AIA is mandatory for high-risk systems, public participation mechanisms are still very weak (pp. 212–213). Iunes proposes four ideal stages of AIA: self-assessment, information disclosure, public consultation and contestation (pp. 201–210). A key critique: AIA that is merely a “questionnaire” like the one in Canada risks becoming merely a checklist (pp. 203–204). The most speculative chapter 9 explores the potential of fiduciary law as a governance framework for placement computing (QC). Herian introduces the concept of quantum fide (“as much as faith”) to describe the leap of faith that occurs when dealing with highly complex and singular technologies (p. 218). The fiduciary legal principles of duty of care, duty of loyalty and no-conflict rule can be extended from the investment context to the design and implementation of QC for the public good (pp. 230–233). Herian argues that governments should act as fiduciaries for citizens who may not understand QC, so that the burden of knowledge (the burden of knowing) does not fall entirely on individuals (pp. 220–222).
Chapter 10 describes three leapfrog countries experimenting with digital-ready legislation: Denmark (a top-down approach with seven principles), Aotearoa (New Zealand) (a bottom-up approach through Legislation as Code) and the Netherlands (a pragmatic, middle-out approach) (pp. 245–252). Chapter 11 provides a critical analysis of the influence of international actors (UNESCO, CAF, OAS and IADB) in shaping AI strategies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Flórez Rojas finds that Latin American countries allow little space to assess local social and cultural challenges due to the dominance of international values (pp. 278–279). Chapter 12 normatively argues that empathy should be recognized as a public value in digital governance. Using Martha Fineman's vulnerability theory framework, Beck and Ranchordás identify various dimensions of administrative vulnerability experienced by citizens in interactions with digital government: limited access, rights violations due to automation and power asymmetries (pp. 295–300).
Chapter 13 uses a civic virtue lens to analyze the Dutch childcare benefit scandal and the SyRI system. The developed framework distinguishes three modalities of civic care: past-oriented (past-oriented: honor), present-oriented (present-oriented: internal virtue practices) and future-oriented (future-oriented: initiation of political action) (pp. 324–325). Chapter 14 uses experimentation as a conceptual lens to analyze the impact of algorithmic governance on vulnerable populations. Stanojević shows that already vulnerable individuals and communities (the elderly, the disabled, ethnic minorities and the underprivileged) are disproportionately targeted by algorithmic systems (p. 338). Chapter 15 critiques claims that trustless systems (such as blockchain) can replace social and institutional mechanisms of trust production. Using decentralized identity management (self-sovereign identity/SSI) as a case study, Bodó and Weigl argue that “trustlessness” eliminates the social labor of trust production that is essential for social cohesion (pp. 358–363). Chapter 16 completes the book with an analysis of large-scale configurations from the past to the future. Three configurations have emerged: street-centered (unit production), production-centered (mass production) and information-centered (continuous production) (pp. 384–389). Each is characterized by stable technology, organization and regulatory frameworks.
This book strengthens the sociomaterial approach in public governance studies by rejecting both technological determinism and extreme social constructionism and contributes to algorithmic accountability theory through new concepts such as equity rules and algorithmic impact assessment, while also refining vulnerability theory by showing that citizens' fragility results from interactions with technological-administrative systems. The book's main strengths include authentic interdisciplinarity, a balance between critical and optimistic, the use of real-life case examples (SyRI, the Dutch child benefit scandal), open access and a comprehensive introduction (pp. 8–22), while its weaknesses include the hegemony of European perspectives, the absence of a synthetic concluding chapter, a concluding review of environmental coverage and a chapter on computational giving that tends to be speculative. This book is useful for researchers and academics as a state-of-the-art with a conceptual framework that can be developed, for policymakers through concrete recommendations such as AIA and privacy-by-design, for public sector practitioners through a typology of algorithmization strategies, for students who freeze digital public governance course materials and for activists and civil society through arguments about democratic control and empathy in data and AI governance.
The author expresses his deepest appreciation and gratitude to the (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan Indonesia) Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) for the financial support provided for this research. This support not only enabled optimal research implementation but also contributed significantly to the development of academic quality and scientific output. The author also appreciates LPDP's commitment to promoting the advancement of research and higher education in Indonesia.
