Predictive Knowledge is Power: Ethics and Law of Collective Privacy in the Data Society

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Rainer Mühlhoff; Professorin Dr. Hannah Ruschemeier
• Subject Area: Practical Philosophy ; Principles of Law and Jurisprudence
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 559352136

Predictive knowledge shapes society: Predictions about individuals and their behaviours constitute a primary application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Predictive analytics enables the creation of prediction models from collective data generated by users of digital media. Due to its diverse range of applications (advertising, credit allocation, personnel management, public services), the use of predictive analytics has become a structural societal factor. Its widespread deployment signifies a redistribution of epistemic power, leading to an individual and collective loss of control over the attribution of socially relevant categories. This can result in privacy violations and discriminations, posing an increasing societal issue. Our interdisciplinary project is a collaboration between Philosophy and Law and aims to critically examine the specific dangers of predictive knowledge production through AI. It raises the question of whether it is justifiable to treat individuals differently based on automated estimations of personal attributes. The project develops an ethical and legal framework for collective protected interests regarding predictive knowledge and contributes effective regulatory proposals to the discussions on AI governance and applied ethics. The existing normative research on data protection, privacy, biases, and societal impacts of AI does not sufficiently reflect the specific risks of predictive analytics. These risks are based on the intertwining of three central characteristics of these technologies: 1. a temporal structure based on the anticipation of developments, 2. the collective enabling mechanism by using data from numerous individuals, and 3. a manifestation of informational power asymmetry. The theoretical analysis of this connection requires an interdisciplinary approach involving Law, Ethics, Social Philosophy, and Philosophy of Technology. The project consortium is divided into four areas: Project Area A focuses on mapping societally relevant applications of predictive analytics and their ethical problems from the perspective of applied ethics, in close cooperation with Project Area B. The latter includes a legal dissertation project on the elements of predictive privacy protection in European Union law, which incorporates the application contexts developed in Project Area A and analyses them from a legal perspective. Together, a taxonomy of societal risks will be developed, allowing for a link to the potentially affected legal interests and serving as a common basis for all project areas. In Project Area C, we will develop a philosophical and legal analysis of the social function and social impact of predictive knowledge. Project Area D is dedicated to the transfer of the results into academic and non-academic contexts, the publicization of the topic and the strategic communication of the regulatory proposals.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants