Technology assessment (TA) emerged in the 1970s as the connection between prospective research on consequences and impacts of technology, on the one hand, and exploiting the knowledge gained for providing scientific and action-oriented advice to society and policymakers. In this manner, TA has been contributing to managing technology in society, e.g. for the energy transformation or with respect to digitalization, for decades. The fast development of AI-driven systems in the recent years resulted in several challenges to TA. The ever-increasing innovation speed is among the reasons behind these new challenges, but also several philosophical and ethical issues of AI need high attention in TA. For example, AI changes the traditional configuration between humans as acting subjects and technology as an area of passive objects. Questions for responsibility and accountability, but also for transparency and traceability arise, and issues of human dependency and vulnerability are touched. Therefore, TA contributing to constructively, responsibly, and prospectively managing AI in society needs close cooperation with ethics and philosophy, including anthropology. The chapter will elaborate on this new constellation and possible responses by TA.

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Technology Assessment Contributing to AI Management in Society

  • Armin Grunwald

摘要

Technology assessment (TA) emerged in the 1970s as the connection between prospective research on consequences and impacts of technology, on the one hand, and exploiting the knowledge gained for providing scientific and action-oriented advice to society and policymakers. In this manner, TA has been contributing to managing technology in society, e.g. for the energy transformation or with respect to digitalization, for decades. The fast development of AI-driven systems in the recent years resulted in several challenges to TA. The ever-increasing innovation speed is among the reasons behind these new challenges, but also several philosophical and ethical issues of AI need high attention in TA. For example, AI changes the traditional configuration between humans as acting subjects and technology as an area of passive objects. Questions for responsibility and accountability, but also for transparency and traceability arise, and issues of human dependency and vulnerability are touched. Therefore, TA contributing to constructively, responsibly, and prospectively managing AI in society needs close cooperation with ethics and philosophy, including anthropology. The chapter will elaborate on this new constellation and possible responses by TA.