AI, agency and responsibility: the VW fraud case and beyond

Authors: Deborah G. Johnson & Mario Verdicchio.

The concept of agency as applied to technological artifacts has become an object of heated debate in the context of AI research because some AI researchers ascribe to programs the type of agency traditionally associated with humans. Confusion about agency is at the root of misconceptions about the possibilities for future AI. We introduce the concept of a triadic agency that includes the causal agency of artifacts and the intentional agency of humans to better describe what happens in AI as it functions in real-world contexts.

Johnson, Deborah G. and Mario Verdicchio. 2018. “AI, agency and responsibility: the VW fraud case and beyond”. AI & Soc 34: 639–647. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-017-0781-9

2018, AIHedvig IdåsJanuary 11, 2018AI, new technology

AI Anxiety

Deborah G. Johnson and Mario Verdicchio identify three factors that give people anxiety about artificial intelligence. The reasons, they argue, may not be what you think they are.

Johnson, Deborah G. and Mario Verdicchio. 2017. “AI Anxiety” Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology . DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23867

Algorithms and AIGuest UserJune 22, 20172017, artificial intelligence, AI

Reframing AI Discourse

Deborah G. Johnson and Mario Verdicchio. The way public understanding of AI is being shaped, often by fear, is a way that may ultimately impede its research. This knowledge leads to a confusion about the notion of ‘autonomy’.

Johnson, Deborah G. and Mario Verdicchio. 2017. “Reframing AI Discourse”. Minds & Machines 27: 575–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-017-9417-6

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Department of Information Science and Media Studies

Financed by the research council of Norway