This new IDHUS Working Paper develops the first comprehensive theory of Institutional Cognitive Digital Twins, proposing a fundamental reconceptualisation of Digital Twins beyond their traditional role as computational representations of physical systems. While conventional Digital Twins primarily support monitoring, optimisation and predictive maintenance, in this paper we argue that governance requires an entirely different class of Digital Twin because public institutions are fundamentally cognitive rather than mechanical systems. Institutions continuously perceive, interpret, remember, reason, learn, anticipate and recursively transform themselves. Consequently, Digital Twins designed for governance must evolve into living cognitive infrastructures capable of participating directly in institutional intelligence.
Building upon the theoretical foundations established throughout the Institutional Cognition Research Programme, the paper integrates previous developments concerning Institutional Cognition, Cognitive Architectures of Institutions, Computational Governance Frameworks, Planetary Governance Systems, Human–AI Institutional Intelligence and the Governance Framework for Measuring Institutional Cognition into a unified operational architecture. The Institutional Cognitive Digital Twin is introduced as a continuously evolving cognitive environment where Human–AI collaboration, institutional memory, distributed knowledge, simulation, policy experimentation, adaptive learning, metacognition and anticipatory governance converge into recursive systems of institutional intelligence.
The paper further extends the concept beyond individual organisations towards distributed cognitive ecosystems composed of interoperable Institutional Cognitive Digital Twins operating across governmental networks. These architectures enable continuous institutional evolution, adaptive policy design, anticipatory governance and cognitive infrastructures supporting future governments. At the planetary level, we develop the concepts of Planetary Digital Twins, Civilisational Memory, Planetary Learning and Civilisational Foresight, demonstrating how interconnected governance systems may progressively contribute to distributed civilisational intelligence without compromising institutional autonomy or democratic legitimacy.
The principal contribution of this Working Paper is the establishment of Digital Twins as living cognitive infrastructures rather than representational technologies. Governance is consequently redefined as a continuous cognitive process sustained through recursive Human–AI institutional intelligence, enabling public institutions to evolve from administrative organisations into adaptive cognitive systems capable of participating consciously in the long-term evolution of governance and, ultimately, the emergence of a Cognitive Civilisation.
