Can AI technologies help create social justice

Fantasy novel about the search for global justice accompanies academic research into the use of artificial intelligence to allocate public services

29 July 2024

Public administrations in a growing number of countries around the world are employing algorithms based on artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the allocation of public social services, such as unemployment benefits. The expectation behind this is that AI-based assessment will be more efficient and objective. Consequently, machines are being employed to determine who is entitled to receive which share of limited public resources. However, the decision-making criteria differ widely from country to country as there is no universal, standardized definition of fair social justice. The systems currently employed have been criticized for reinforcing existing social bias and discrimination as the data processed reflects the past rather than the present.

The international research project "Artificial Intelligence for Assessment" (AI FORA) aims at developing "better AI" through the involvement of various stakeholders in society. The research team will examine the current status as well as potential future options for the utilization of AI and has decided for an inclusive approach to engage a wider target group with this subject: fantasy fiction. "Angels and other Cows", the first novel, was written by Professor Petra Ahrweiler and combines various literary genres such as science fiction, romance, adventure, mystery, and comedy. Petra Ahrweiler is Professor of Sociology of Technology and Innovation, Social Simulation at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and coordinator of the AI FORA project. The recently published book will be followed by three other volumes intended to illustrate and exemplify the research subject.

AI as an aid in the search for global justice

"Angels and other Cows" is set in heaven and on earth. The earthly protagonists are Gabriel and Tilda, who work for an international aid company called B1. Their mission is to recruit case study partners around the world for a project on AI-based social assessment. Their personal journey is interwoven with a global plea for unity in a world of dystopian conditions - in the form of scarce public resources, economic crises, and disparities in life opportunities in many countries. The heaven-based part of the narrative is dedicated to contemplation. While Gabriel and Tilda struggle with resolving their intellectual differences and defining their relationship on earth, they are accompanied by two guardian angels who have been assigned to save the planet through intercultural integration.

"Angels and Other Cows. A Celestial Adventure into AI Worlds, the Social Good, and Unknown Connections" is the first of a series of four open access books published by Springer Nature. Two academic volumes on the results of the project and a concluding evaluating scientific novel are to follow.

Graphic novel to reach an even wider audience

"The first novel is to introduce the research field and basic research results on AI usage in the public sector to as many people as possible. We hope that this will motivate readers to become interested in our academic research," said Professor Petra Ahrweiler. A graphic novel version of the book will be published soon to make the academic aspects even more accessible. "This graphic form of the narrative will provide yet another format of communication that we assume will appeal especially to the younger generation," added Ahrweiler.

Petra Ahrweiler was appointed Professor for Sociology of Technology and Innovation, Social Simulation, at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 2013. She was on leave from 2013 to 2017 to work as Director and CEO at the EA European Academy of Technology and Innovation Assessment in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. Her team coordinates the interdisciplinary and international AI FORA project that is dealing with highly topical issues relating to artificial intelligence. Here, the researchers are considering the consequences of the increasing appraisal of people by AI systems and how society is reacting to the corresponding developments. In addition, they are focusing on the social, political, legal, and ethical impacts of these computer systems that are progressively infiltrating social structures. Participants in AI FORA in addition to JGU include the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Kaiserslautern, the University of Augsburg and the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK.

The AI FORA project is sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation through its Artificial Intelligence and the Society of the Future funding program. The TISSS Lab (Technology & Innovation Sociology/Social Simulation Laboratory) has received a further EUR 36,000 for the coordination of the project's research communication strategy. The book "Angels and Other Cows. A Celestial Adventure into AI Worlds, the Social Good, and Unknown Connections" is available in print form and as a free open access download.

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