Artificial Intelligence—A New Knowledge and Decision-Making Paradigm?

Abstract

AbstractBased on a large scale of technology application scenarios, artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to have disruptive impact on economies and societies. In recent years, breakthroughs have been made in basic research on the fundamental technologies of artificial intelligence. AI is showing greater potential to become a general-purpose technology. Major economies are focusing on policies, regulations, and strategic plans around basic research and R&D of technology application scenarios in AI. However, the optimization of AI policy-making demands more interdisciplinary knowledge and a broader societal debate. In the domain of technology assessment (TA), the research on AI and its potential impacts has been considered important already early. The research questions, which include impacts on the workforce as well as impacts on societal communication and democracy as well as fundamental issues like responsibility, transparency, and ethics, have drawn widespread attention from TA studies. This chapter presents a scholarly discussion of AI topics in the context of TA, based on a qualitative analysis of AI policy databases from the OECD and EPTA. The analysis concludes that enhancing global cooperation in TA will contribute to address fundamental ethical and societal issues of AI, which in turn broadens the knowledge base and helps to pave way for a more inclusive and just use of AI.