From Black Boxes to Dialogue Boxes: Reimagining Platform Accountability through Participatory Service Design

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_13How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Platform accountability; Participatory service design; Responsibility modelling; Dialogue systems; Algorithmic governance

Abstract

As digital platforms increasingly permeate public governance systems, existing accountability mechanisms remain predominantly constrained to information disclosure and technical transparency approaches. This narrow focus systematically overlooks the critical dimensions of public participation and social interaction in accountability processes. To address this gap, this paper introduces a ‘Dialogue Box Generation Framework’ that integrates participatory service design methodologies to fundamentally reconstruct platform accountability logic. The framework comprises three interconnected modules: (1) a context-aware interface co-construction module that dynamically couples institutional requirements with user experience through scenario mapping and multi-stakeholder modeling; (2) an accountability relationship modeling and tracking module that establishes multi-role accountability chains via semantic graphs and interpretable algorithms; and (3) a design-mediated dialogue mechanism that facilitates continuous negotiation among users, administrators, and designers through narrative guidance and collaborative editing interfaces. By systematically integrating design methods into platform governance processes, this framework creates an accountability system that is perceptible, traceable, and negotiable through co-construction. Empirical evaluation demonstrates that this approach significantly enhances users’ comprehension of accountability chains and substantially increases their willingness to engage in platform governance processes.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ziqing Cai
AU  - Kim Wang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
TI  - From Black Boxes to Dialogue Boxes: Reimagining Platform Accountability through Participatory Service Design
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 7th International Conference on Economic Management and Model Engineering (ICEMME 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 124
EP  - 134
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_13
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_13
ID  - Cai2026
ER  -