The role of digital twins in the political process

Digital twins, traditionally used in modelling complex technical systems that obey the laws of physics, mathematical expressions and a predictable external environment, are gradually penetrating into the unpredictable social sphere of activity. The article discusses the global practice of digital twin applications related to urban governance, policy modelling and the assessment of possible consequences. Examples such as civic-oriented platform for achieving municipal goals, modelling the social impact of local government policy, assessing the consequences of natural disasters, application of digital twins in politics to answer the question ‘what if’ are considered. Among the possible risks and negative consequences considered are breach of confidentiality, manipulation of citizens, ethical issues. Possible directions of development in the future include combining neural network technologies and digital twins and their transformation from a passive model into an active assistant capable of providing relevant services to a particular person and assessing in advance the possible personalized effect when making political decisions. Existing precedents for the use of digital twins in political processes give rise to optimism about their further introduction into other social spheres of life. Governments should ensure that decisions based on digital twins are transparent so that the technology does not become a ‘black box’ for citizens. Particular attention should be paid to the development of a legislative framework that will be a global standard for the development and operation of digital twins in the social sphere.