Every day, decisions are taken that shape the technological landscape in which we live and the media we use, yet public voices are often not part of those conversations. When it comes to debates about the future of public service media it is essential that people’s voices are heard if we want tomorrow’s media to work for everyone in society.
The Responsible Innovation Centre for Public Media Futures (RIC) is bringing 100 people who reflect the UK’s whole population together for a national conversation about how they want public service media to develop and use technology for the benefit of all.
Why is this an important conversation to have with the public?
Technology is changing how we experience all sorts of media. Algorithms learn from our behaviours and shape what appears on our screens and in our feeds. AI tools are fast becoming a fundamental part of everyday life, changing how we search and engage with news and information. Online safe spaces for civic conversations are under threat, while digital divides persist.
This creates daunting challenges for public service media organisations. They have a mission to serve the public by creating media and content that benefits everyone, but how they achieve that must evolve as new technologies, platforms, and services transform the media environment. This means they are continually reflecting on how they can use technology and innovate to best meet people’s needs while upholding their fundamental values.
That’s why this year, the team at the Responsible Innovation Centre will host a public deliberation that brings together a range of people to work together to develop collective positions on what they’d like to see happen as technology changes public service media. The recommendations they produce could help inform decision-makers who have the power to change things.
What will we do?
We’re asking the public: how can public service media make, shape, or use technology to ensure everyone benefits in an increasingly digital and online world?
Over five online workshops and a two-day in-person summit at BBC Quay House in Salford, participants will hear from experts on a range of issues facing public service media and their audiences. They will take part in structured activities designed to help them discuss important issues and debate what outcomes they would like to see around key issues, including:
- Public service media in a changing landscape
- Digital inclusion
- Civic participation online
- Personalisation and discovery online
- Information integrity, news and AI
During the summit, participants will work together to agree a set of visions and priorities so they can make recommendations for what they want to see change. The summit will culminate in a creative exercise bringing their visions for the future to life, as they imagine what desirable digital futures could look like.
The deliberative process is designed to give people from across society the chance to work together to learn, discuss, and collectively weigh complex issues in a shared space, generating rich insights that we cannot gain via other methods like surveys and opinion polls.
This is a vital conversation to be having. We’re looking forward to hearing from the public about how technologies can be developed and used to benefit their communities and UK society. Through this deliberation, we’re excited to be creating a space where people can have their say on what matters most to them and their expectations and hopes for the future, bringing this directly to public service media organisations, policymakers, and other actors involved in shaping the future of public service media.
So, what’s next?
Our deliberation will take place across April and May 2026. Then, later in the year, we’ll publish a public report and a set of recommendations, mapping out the key priorities that the participants have agreed and setting out what’s most important to them, alongside a short film documenting the deliberation.
We’ll share these recommendations and the lessons we’ve learnt about conducting a public dialogue of this kind with representatives from public service media and with policymakers. We hope our insights can also show the value that public deliberation can bring and add the voice of the public to the conversation about our shared media futures.
Key facts
RIC is the convenor for this public deliberation, responsible for overall governance, overseeing project management and funding the deliberation costs. RIC is responsible for setting the research direction, designing the deliberation (including the remit question and research topic framing), and engaging decision-makers with the findings.
RIC is partnering with BBC Research & Development, which is supporting this work and will make its own response to the findings and recommendations after they are published.
Elgon Social Research is the delivery partner for the RIC deliberation. They are responsible for recruitment (working with the Sortition Foundation), logistics, facilitating the workshops and summit and analysis.
The selection of participants took place through a civic lottery, in collaboration with the Sortition Foundation, to ensure that they represent a broad cross-section of UK society.
About RIC
RIC is the host and funder for this deliberation. RIC is hosted by BBC Research & Development but operates with financial and research independence. Funded by UKRI through a £1.9 million UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship grant, RIC sets its own research agenda and makes its own recommendations.
