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Shaping 21st Century​ ​AI. Controversies and Closure in Media, Policy, and Research

Subject Area Communication Sciences
Sociological Theory
Term from 2020 to 2024
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 440899634
 
Final Report Year 2025

Final Report Abstract

The project SHAPING AI has investigated how AI as a sociotechnical phenomenon is being integrated into our societies and how controversies are shaping this process. Funded by the national funding organisations of Canada, France, Germany (DFG), and the UK (ESRC) within the highly competitive Open Research Area (ORA) initiative, the project addressed the formative decade for 21st century AI from 2012 onwards. As AI technology advanced rapidly, massive economic and political resources have installed AI at the center of society. At the same time substantive concerns have been raised that these developments might reinforce social and economic inequalities. The project sought to understand these dynamics in four countries—Germany, France, Canada, and the UK—by examining how debates about AI unfolded in media, policy, and research, and engaging with concerned communities. The study revealed three key trends shaping how AI is being integrated into society. First, economic narratives dominated the early discussions about AI across media and policy, framing it as a necessary and beneficial resource. In the media, AI was often discussed in terms of business opportunities and technological advancements, rather than as a contested topic. Second, an “AI and Society” discourse took shape in policy and civil society domains, with a strong focus on the contextual deployment of AI (eg. facial recognition, predictive analytics) in the public sector and beyond. Such critical problematisations of AI enable the articulation of AI as a ‘super-controversy’ and explicate connections between technical propositions, situated troubles and structural problems in society (discrimination, inequalities and corporate power). Third, as Generative AI became prominent toward the end of the study, tech companies began using the language of controversy strategically, framing themselves as central to shaping AI’s role in society even with regard to critique. This yields the risk that critical voices from activism, journalism, and academia are even further marginalised. In addition to analyzing debates, the project actively engaged with different communities. Through participatory workshops in all four countries, stakeholders—including civil society members, experts, and policymakers—were invited to share their views on AI and its societal implications. These workshops not only enriched the research with diverse perspectives but also ensured its findings were relevant and accessible to the public. By fostering dialogue and collaboration, the SHAPING AI project contributed to a deeper, more inclusive understanding of the complex role AI plays in contemporary societies.

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