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Artificial Intelligence is the new system technology

News item | 31-01-2023 | 07:46

Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be considered a system technology, similar to the steam engine, electricity, the combustion engine and computer. Taking this approach helps to look beyond the issues of the day and instead make long-term recommendations about how AI can be embedded in society. That is what the WRR argues in its newly published book Mission AI. The New System Technology in the Springer Series: Research for Policy.

Enlarge image beeld news report Mission AI
Image: ©WRR

Artificial intelligence (AI) appeals to the imagination of the public. Once just a scientific discipline that interested experts and science fiction fans, now AI is regularly the subject of headlines. In recent years, we have seen AI extend beyond the boundaries of the laboratory to society. Notable scientific breakthroughs led to patents and several new applications, which in turn attracted the attention of the private sector. (see Summary Mission AI. The New System Technology)

AI strategies

Numerous governments have developed their own AI strategies. As the use of AI increases, so does the public debate. Civil society, activist scientists and citizens are all becoming increasingly involved in the technology. There is an extensive range of literature on the different ways AI affects society, from studies on privacy, inclusion and autonomy to proposals for principles, standards and regulations for AI. 

European Union

The most prominent of these is the European Union's proposal for a law on artificial intelligence. In addition, numerous opinions have been published, focusing on general AI strategies and specific domains. By viewing AI as a system technology, drawing analogies and learning lessons from other similar technologies, you are able to gain some insight into the impact of AI. At this level, the recommendations are also of value to governments in other countries.

The book Mission AI. The New System Technology can be downloaded free of charge (as an ebook) or can be ordered as a deluxe hardcover book via the Springer website.

This animation explains that AI is not just a technology, but a system technology, which means that it will fundamentally change society. We need to properly shape this transition and learn from system technologies from the past.

Voice over:
Artificial intelligence.
A broad phenomenon that can take many forms.
From robots and self-driving cars to chess computers and social media algorithms.
We're currently at a turning point, when AI is increasingly moving from the lab into society.
That's why it's important to understand the impact of AI.
As it's not just a technology, but a system technology that will fundamentally change our society.
Just like, for example, the arrival of the steam engine and electricity.
Like those previous system technologies, AI will penetrate deep into our society, while the technology itself continuously improves and drives innovation, in combination with other technologies.
This makes AI versatile and complex, and also unpredictable.
In short, a major societal transition will take place during the coming decades.
We face the shared task of properly shaping this transition and learning from system technologies from the past, in order to reap the maximum benefits of AI in the future.
Want to know more about AI as a system technology?
Read the report on our website, www.wrr.nl.

This animation explains that AI is not just a technology, but a system technology, which means that it will fundamentally change society. We need to properly shape this transition and learn from system technologies from the past.

Voice over:
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is not just a technology, but a system technology that will increasingly change our society.
It's necessary to actively shape this transition. The WRR sees five tasks in this regard.
First of all, it is important to demystify AI.
By puncturing unrealistic doomsday scenarios… and expectations that are too high… we learn to ask the right questions together.
The second task is to contextualize AI.
By clearly understanding how AI will work, and opting for a specific AI identity… a country can create a technical and social environment… in which AI functions well.
Next, engagement is crucial.
It's very important to involve all relevant societal groups… in order to democratize the use of AI… and to support vulnerable people.
The fourth task is regulating AI.
Guiding public values around AI means weighing up interests which are sometimes conflicting.
To this end, a strategic and more integrated legislative agenda is needed, aimed at both the short… and long term.
Finally, the international positioning of AI is important.
AI is a global development… and with the help of ‘AI diplomacy’… a country can capitalise on as many international opportunities as possible.
These five tasks require a broad social and political approach… and a different policy infrastructure with political roots… so that  governments can properly shape the societal embedding of AI.
Want to know more about the tasks? Go to www.wrr.nl.

Springer Book Series: Research for Policy

In this series, we publish internationally relevant studies of the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy. Many of the cross-cutting issues that affect Dutch policymaking, also challenge other Western countries or international bodies. By publishing these studies in this international open access scientific series, we hope that our analyses and insights can contribute to the policy debate in other countries.

More information about the Springer Series can be obtained here.

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