Trust in Science During Global Challenges: The Pandemic and Trustworthy AI

Through analyzing examples from the COVID-19 pandemic and legislative strategies for the responsible use of AI, we argue that trustworthy science is an intrinsic value with which every good research practice should align. This means that science has to be conducted in a responsible way. Still, this is a necessary but not sufficient condition for building long-lasting trust in science. The social component plays a significant role in this process. Education is important because it increases the scientific literacy of laypeople and the responsible applications of technology by experts. Moreover, when applying scientific research to a larger population one has to keep in mind the individual, cultural and national context of the measures in question. In order to achieve cross-national trust in science, social and natural sciences have to act in synergy with educational institutions over a long period of time. While the normative questions have to be answered by philosophers and policymakers. Especially in the case of AI, science has to be designed for the benefit of humans and for their use, constituting the so-called human-centered application of AI.