Coding the future of planetary governance

Artificial intelligence has already transformed how we work, trade and communicate. The harder question is whether it could (and should) govern. Hugues Bersini, professor of computer science at ULB and co-head of IRIDIA, has been grappling with this frontier for decades. His work ranges from the civic-minded experiments of FARI (AI for the Common Good Institute) to the radical proposition of algorithmically managed personal carbon accounts. At stake is a deeper inquiry: can code become a new civic architecture, capable of shaping behaviour, allocating resources and redefining responsibility at scale?

To test the promises and perils of this vision, Bersini will be joined by philosopher and journalist Simon Brunfaut, whose work often probes the moral and political tensions beneath technological progress. Together, they will examine what happens when governance becomes computational: who gains power, who loses it, and whether algorithmic systems can ever embody the messy values of democratic life.