Michiel van der Meer Earns PhD with New Hybrid System for Capturing Opinion Diversity

How can governments better organize citizen participation in complex decisions, from asylum reception to electoral reform? Michiel van der Meer, computer scientist and PhD candidate, explored this in his research on Opinion Diversity through Hybrid Intelligence  — and was officially awarded his PhD on March 26.

In his dissertation, van der Meer demonstrates how human and artificial intelligence (AI) can work together to enhance citizen deliberation processes. While AI can process large volumes of text and arguments at scale, humans are better at understanding nuance and context. His hybrid intelligence approach combines both, enabling more inclusive and insightful summaries of citizen input.

His supervisors, professor Catholijn Jonker and professor Piek Vossen, emphasize that technology alone isn’t enough: real inclusivity also demands human involvement – reaching those who are less digitally literate or more socially isolated.

Full article (in Dutch): Zo versterken kunstmatige en menselijke intelligentie samen de democratie