Harmonizing Research Into AI Futures and Governance
Principal Investigator: Nicholas Evans, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Years of award: 2024-2027
Managing Services Agency: Army Research Office
Project Description:
This project makes significant contributions to basic research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) futures by innovating meta-scientific approaches to address the challenges of prospectively analyzing and forecasting emerging issues in technology. It bridges the gap between different scales of analysis and methodologies across social sciences. The project's integrated approach can pave the way for further interdisciplinary efforts in social sciences research on emerging technologies such as the bioeconomy, health security, and nanotechnology. This project, moreover, represents an infrastructural scene change regarding large, team based basic social sciences research. The introduction of a 6 comprehensive data ontology to guide multi-disciplinary efforts towards a single set of questions. AI futures are critical elements of policymaking in the defense space, however, interpreting social scientific results on AI futures can be challenging due to methodological pluralism and uncertainty in reporting. This project aims to provide accurate information on AI decision-making and values, enabling policymakers and funders to navigate AI futures with greater confidence in the available data.