ARMIN Grunwald
Head of the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag
Artificial intelligence is not simply another conventional technology, and ethics alone is not sufficient to address its implications. As AI develops from a tool into what is increasingly described as a “partner,” the relationship between human beings and technology is changing. In the past, human beings were the subjects and technology was the object. Today, people are increasingly becoming the objects of technologies and of decisions made by AI systems. This fundamentally changes the anthropological constellation in which we live and requires new interfaces between human agency and AI agency. The future should not be “AI-driven”; it should remain human-driven. AI should be used to help create good, just, sustainable and more equitable futures. AI systems are designed by particular actors, often companies, and may embody commercial interests, business models and specific ideas about what a good society should look like. Human beings must therefore remain aware of how these systems shape decisions and behaviour. We should make use of the tremendous possibilities offered by AI, but we must also preserve our own ability to think and judge independently. We should not transfer too much of our cognitive agency to machines.
