Plurality in Denmark

Almost the only visible link between Denmark and the book *Plurality* is The Synthetic Party, an AI-led political party the book uses as an example. No Danish translation or review of the book has been found, but Denmark has overlapping foundations, such as its long practice of creating places where citizens discuss technology.

Would it surprise you to hear that there is a political party whose "leader" is an artificial intelligence (AI)? In Denmark, a party that describes itself that way really exists. Plurality, the book by Audrey Tang and E. Glen Weyl, took up this party as an example of renewing the idea of representation. For now, this is almost the only point where Denmark and Plurality meet.

In short

Almost the only visible link between Denmark and Plurality is The Synthetic Party (Det Syntetiske Parti in Danish), an AI party that chapter 5-4 of the English edition, "Augmented Deliberation", uses as an example [1]. The research for this article found no Danish translation of the book, no Danish-language reviews, and no Danish-language interviews with Weyl.

Denmark does, on the other hand, have foundations that overlap with the book's ideas, such as Teknologirådet (the Danish Board of Technology), an organization that has created places for citizens to discuss technology (since the 1980s, by its own account), and a national digital ID [2][3]. The book, however, does not mention these Danish examples. Because there is little material, this article is fairly short.

For example

The Synthetic Party (2022–). This is a party founded in Denmark in May 2022. Its face is a chatbot (an AI you can talk with) called Leader Lars. According to the American outlet Vice, it is programmed on the policies of small Danish parties since 1970 [4]. It was created by an artists' group, Computer Lars, and the non-profit MindFuture foundation [4].

Chapter 5-4 of the English edition introduces the party as "a striking real-world implementation" of the idea of using a language model as a "collective representative" [1]. This paragraph was proposed for addition on the book's GitHub (a website for making documents together) by Asker Bryld Staunæs, a founder who goes by Computer Lars, and Weyl merged it [5]. → The Synthetic Party

Tang and Copenhagen (May 2024). Tang joined the Copenhagen Democracy Summit online. The summit is held by the Alliance of Democracies, a foundation set up by former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen [6]. According to an announcement by Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs, Tang, in response to biased opinions being generated and spread with generative AI, advocated "pre-bunking": warning people about manipulative tactics before misinformation spreads. She also introduced Taiwan's Cofacts, where citizens work together to check information, and events in which citizens discussed AI [6].

In more detail

Denmark in the book

In the English edition of the book, the word "Denmark" appears only in the paragraph on The Synthetic Party in chapter 5-4. Chapter 5-4 in the Japanese and Traditional Mandarin editions does not have this paragraph [1]. The paragraph was added to the English edition in June 2024 [5].

According to the text, the party linked the fact that 15–20% of people do not vote in Danish elections with the existence of over 200 small parties that fail to win seats. The book says that the party tuned its AI on the texts of those small parties and is trying to make it a channel for the voices of people who do not vote [1].

Elsewhere, chapter 7-0, "Policy", mentions Margrethe Vestager of the European Commission, writing that Vestager helped inspire the television series Borgen [7]. The preface of the Traditional Mandarin edition writes that after Taiwan signed the Declaration for the Future of the Internet with more than 60 countries in 2022, Denmark and the EU launched the "數位民主倡議" (Digital Democracy Initiative) in 2023 [8].

Overlapping foundation 1: places for citizens to discuss technology

Teknologirådet took over from Teknologinævnet, founded in 1986, in 1995, and became a non-profit foundation in 2012 [2]. It is an organization that has considered the effects of technology on people, the environment and society by involving citizens, politicians, experts and stakeholders [2].

Its best-known method is the "konsensuskonference" (consensus conference). At the 1995 conference on gene therapy, for example, a panel of ordinary citizens heard experts at a public conference, put further questions to them, and wrote the final document themselves [9].

In 2009 it held "World Wide Views on Global Warming", in which 4,000 citizens in 38 countries discussed global warming, and the results were taken to COP15, the UN climate conference in Copenhagen [2][10]. From December 2022 to April 2023, it was one of the core members of the consortium that designed and ran the European Commission's European Citizens' Panels (of 150 people each, chosen by lot) [3].

At the national level, a citizens' assembly on climate, "Klimaborgertinget" (99 people), was set up in autumn 2020. However, Danish Wikipedia writes that the government is under no legal obligation to carry out its proposals and that its powers are relatively weak [11].

These forums overlap with the deliberation (discussing things carefully before deciding) and the selection of participants by lot that chapter 5-4 of the book discusses. But the book does not cite these Danish examples. Placing them alongside the book is this article's own view. → Augmented Deliberation

Overlapping foundation 2: digital public systems

Denmark has a national digital ID, MitID (which replaced the earlier NemID in 2021), and borger.dk, a common entry point for dealings with public authorities (since 2007) [12][13]. These overlap with the book's topics of digital public infrastructure and identity and personhood. The book, however, does not mention them. This, too, is this article's own mapping.

The Danish debate on AI and democracy

A November 2025 article in the Danish AI magazine AI Portalen argued that AI can either open or close democratic conversation. It cited Taiwan's Join, Polis and vTaiwan, and initiatives in Barcelona, Spain, as examples Denmark can learn from [14].

On the other hand, a 2024 report published by Denmark's Ministry of Digitalisation found that Danes can tell images made with generative AI apart with accuracy not much better than guessing. It also raises the problem that researchers cannot get access to the data of big tech companies [15]. The report makes no mention of Taiwan, Polis or Plurality [15].

On a university researcher profile page, Asker of The Synthetic Party writes that the research follows the broad-listening and augmented-deliberation lineage from Taiwan's g0v and vTaiwan, through Takahiro Anno's 2024 campaign for Governor of Tokyo, to Team Mirai [16]. This line is the closest Denmark comes to the language of Plurality. → AI and digital parties · Broad listening · Team Mirai

What is debated

The weakness of citizens' forums. Danish Wikipedia writes of the climate citizens' assembly that the government is under no legal obligation to carry out its proposals and that its powers are relatively weak [11]. Even when citizens deliberate, how to connect the results to politics is a question for the ideas of deliberation the book deals with, too.
Views on AI parties. Criticism of and debate about The Synthetic Party itself are collected in the article on The Synthetic Party.

Common misunderstandings

That Denmark has adopted Plurality. What the book cites is a single party with a strong art and research character. No material has been found showing that Denmark's government or parliament drew on the book.

Where it fits in Plurality

In chapter 5-4 of the book, "Augmented Deliberation", The Synthetic Party appears as a real example of the idea of using a language model as a group's representative. This is the clearest point of contact between Denmark and the book. → The Synthetic Party · Augmented Deliberation

Denmark's tradition of citizen participation and its digital public systems overlap with the book's discussion of digital democracy, but they are not discussed in the book.

Articles on other countries and regions:

Sources

Plurality, 5-4 "Augmented Deliberation" — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/5-4/eng/ ［CC0］
Wikipedia (Danish), "Teknologirådet" — https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teknologirådet
Altinget, "Teknologirådet: Borgerpaneler er et vigtigt stykke demokratisk nytænkning" (2023-05-15, in Danish) — https://www.altinget.dk/civilsamfund/artikel/teknologiraadet-den-deltagelsesdemokratiske-boelge-har-ramt-eu-og-saetter-gang-i-hjulene
Vice, "This Danish Political Party Is Led by an AI" (2022-10-13) — https://www.vice.com/en/article/this-danish-political-party-is-led-by-an-ai/
pluralitybook/plurality, PR #939 (2024-05-31 to 06-12) — https://github.com/pluralitybook/plurality/pull/939 ［CC0］
Taiwan Ministry of Digital Affairs, "Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang Attended the Copenhagen Democracy Summit via Video Conference" (2024-05-15) — https://moda.gov.tw/en/press/press-releases/12774 ［CC0］
Plurality, 7-0 "Policy" — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/7-0/eng/ ［CC0］
Plurality, Traditional Mandarin edition, preface "數位觀照" (in Chinese) — https://www.plurality.net/
Teknologirådet, "Genterapi — Hvad kan man? Hvad vil vi?" (1995, in Danish) — https://tekno.dk/app/uploads/2019/01/956.pdf
Wikipedia (Danish), "World Wide Views on Global Warming" — https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Views_on_Global_Warming ［CC BY-SA 4.0］
Wikipedia (Danish), "Borgertinget på klimaområdet" — https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgertinget_på_klimaområdet
Wikipedia (Danish), "MitID" — https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/MitID ［CC BY-SA 4.0］
Wikipedia (Danish), "Borger.dk" — https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borger.dk ［CC BY-SA 4.0］
AI Portalen, "Demokrati på kode – hvordan AI kan åbne (eller lukke) den demokratiske samtale" (2025-11-27, in Danish) — https://www.ai-portalen.dk/demokrati-paa-kode-hvordan-ai-kan-aabne-eller-lukke-den-demokratiske-samtale/
Danish Ministry of Digitalisation, "Tech-giganter og demokrati" (2024, in Danish) — https://www.digmin.dk/Media/638852292698782878/Rapport%20om%20tech-giganter%20og%20demokrati,%20kunstig%20intelligens,%20misinformation%20og%20digitale%20platforme.pdf
Aarhus University, profile page of Asker Bryld Staunæs — https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/abs@cc.au.dk

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