Shortlisting: a Principled Approach

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the importance of developing principled, efficient, and fair shortlisting methods to improve participatory decision-making and trust in democratic systems, addressing a largely overlooked problem.

Contribution

It highlights the significance of principled shortlisting, distinguishes it from related problems, and calls for further research to develop fair and efficient procedures.

Findings

Identifies shortlisting as a crucial yet underexplored problem.

Argues for the benefits of principled shortlisting in democratic processes.

Calls for research to develop fair and efficient shortlisting methods.

Abstract

Shortlisting is the process of selecting a subset of alternatives from a larger pool for further consideration or final decision-making. It is widely applied in social choice and multi-agent system scenarios. The growing demand for participatory decision-making and the continuously expanding space of candidates create an urgent need for efficient and fair shortlisting procedures. However, little principled study has been done on this problem. This blue-sky paper aims to highlight the overlooked significance of shortlisting, distinguish it from related problems, provide initial thoughts, and, more importantly, serve as a call to arms. We envision that principled shortlisting can reduce cognitive burden, enable fair collective decisions, encourage broader participation, and ultimately build trust in democratic systems.