Sociology & AI: A fruitful relationship?

Abstract: This seminar highlights the ‘fruitful collaboration’ that sociology and AI could develop in both social and technical terms. Digging into the social side of AI is a novel but indisputable requirement not only within the AI community but also for  a sociologically informed reflection on the biunivocal relationship between society and technology. Beyond the undoubtedly much-needed efforts into ethics, explainability and responsible AI, future research should invest in an “AI for people”, to bring together all the alternative frames of thinking—from the various communities of developers, researchers, business leaders, policymakers, and citizens. To properly acknowledge how AI systems are situated in various social and institutional contexts, a sociological approach should include socio-technical imaginaries and narratives into the discussion.