In this session we will talk about some of the ethical considerations of AI and more specifically about issues that emerge from the opacity of algorithmic classification in automated decision-making systems. This session attempts to combine the emerging research work of the fields of AI and Digital Civics to redefine the goals and methods of smart cities, smart communities and big data towards more inclusive, participatory and democratic futures. Participants will be introduced to the aims, motivations, and assumptions of the civic-oriented Human Computer Interaction field of Digital Civics and ways through which such civic and participatory approaches to technology design and development can be combined with work in Artificial Intelligence. This will include questioning the assumptions we hold about how and why people and algorithms can and do participate in society and how and why democratic practices are enabled by social and technological design.