Authors.
Associate Professor, Economics
In 2016 a friend of mine working as a AI developer at Deep Mind showed me how fast AI development was progressing. Two things immediately struck me: firstly, AI is going to change the world as we know it, and secondly, that there are almost no social science researchers trying to understand this change. AI will not only drive our cars in the future, its use will also impact the soft values of our lives, such as love, trust and happiness. Having previously focused on understanding the mechanisms of norms, cultures and values, this insight caused me to shift the focus of my research to shed light on how AI is going to change our futures, and how to make sure we harness the benefits while avoiding the pitfalls.
I am currently a research leader at the Institute for Futures Studies, head of the theme New Technologies and the future of humanity. As a researcher, I’m methodologically broad having spent my career applying mathematical models to explain societal change.
Talk to me about: Artificial Intelligence, Tomorrow’s social norms, Technology diffusion
PhD, Environmental Modeling, MSc Engineering Physics, BSc Political Economics
I defended my PhD thesis on predictive modeling of groundwater contamination at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), KTH, Royal Institute of Technology in 2015. During my PhD studies I spent a year as a Fulbright visiting student researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. I have also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Division of Systems Analysis and Economics, KTH, and as a research scientist at Folksam Insurance Group in Stockholm.
My previous studies regard discrete car type choice models and the impact of climate policys in Sweden, as well as transport externalities such as traffic risks, health effects of air pollution, and models to predict the transport and diffusion of contaminants.
At the Institute for Futures Studies I study Artificial Intelligence (AI); the ambition is to develop methods to predict the diffusion of AI-applications with the overall aim of better understanding their social impacts.
Pontus Strimling
Emma Engström
PhD, Philosophy
I am a researcher at the Institute for Futures Studies. I defended my doctoral thesis in December 2014 at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). My thesis is about applied ethics and in particular how we should relate to the risks and opportunities of technological innovation.
I am interested in issues related to political philosophy, bioethics and the philosophy of science. My main interests right now are the risks and possibilities associated with AI, global catastrophic risks and humanity’s long-term future.
Talk to me about: Transhumanism, Rational philanthropy, Existential risks
Karim Jebari
PhD, Political Science
In 2018, I obtained my Ph.D. in political science from the European University Institute (EUI). In my current project – “Firms as Political Activists: The Scope and Nature of Corporate Political Responsibility” – I explore corporate lobbying on issues pertaining to cultural diversity, environmentalism, lifestyle choices, nationalism, and immigration.
My research interests focus on corporate political activity, business power, political economy, and elites. I am interested in how large corporations and powerful individuals shape political outcomes and what makes them tick, politically.
Talk to me about: lobbying on AI, corporate political values, big tech, politics and policy related to AI
PhD, Psychology
In my research, I use survey data, such as World Values Survey, to study social norms and their change in different cultures. At the Institute, I work with Pontus Strimling and Kimmo Eriksson on a project in which we explain moral opinion change by what type of arguments are used in favour or against certain moral position. I specialize in applying advanced statistical and computational methods in social research.
PhD Medical science, MA Rehabilitation Science, BSc Prosthetics and Orthotics
When I was individually adapting artificial limbs to patients in health care, one thing fascinated me: how well technology can work together with the human body. The prosthetic leg can become a new excepted part of the person; the person starts to talk about and act as the leg was their real limb. Humans adapt to new situations and environments if the technology works according to the expectations and is adding value to our lives. An assumption is that it will work the same for AI, that one component in AI diffusion will be dependent on people’s tolerance for error of the AI technology.
I’m a postdoc at the Institute for Futures Studies in Stockholm in a project that aims to predict the diffusion of AI. I’m a researcher with a wide interest of empirical methods that investigate peoples’ understanding, attitudes and preferences.
Talk to me about: Artificial Intelligence, People’s attitudes and preferences, Risk perception, Risk ethics
PhD, Management
I obtained my Ph.D. at the University in Geneva in 2020 with my dissertation entitled Artificial intelligence in organizations: Strategy and decision making in the digital age. My research primarily relates to the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) and human beings, studying how humans and AI interact and cooperate in organizations. My current projects explore contexts where AI is used to automate or augment human judgment in complex decisions. At the Institute for Futures Studies I mainly work in the project Predicting the diffusion of artificial intelligence with the purpose of predicting the spread of AI applications and thereby assessing its societal impact.
Talk to me about: Artificial intelligence, Cognition and behavior, Human factors in AI implementation, Human-AI interaction, Ethics of AI
Professor, Mathematical Statistics
I am a professor of mathematical statistics at Chalmers University of Technology and a board member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).
My main research is in theory of statistics and in statistical mechanics. In recent years I have broadened my research interests and work for instance with applied statistics, philosophy, climate science, artificial intelligence and social consequences of future technologies.
Talk to me about: AI ethics, AI risk, artificial general intelligence, superintelligence and existential risk
PhD, Philosophy
I am a researcher affiliated with the Institute for Futures Studies. Currently, I am working at Umeå University on a project on AI and ethics.
I finished my PhD in 2018, at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). My dissertation concerned ethical and epistemical challenges in the information society. My research is primarily about information, information security, privacy, anonymity, and AI-technology.
At the Institute, I am currently leading a project on ethical and societal aspects on self-driving vehicles, funded by Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration). The project ends this year. Previously, I’ve also been involved in two EU projects on AI and robotics (SHERPA and SIENNA), through University of Twente.
Talk to me about: Privacy, Anonymity, Autonomous Vehicles, Epistemic and Informational aspects of AI-technology, the Control problem.
BA, Philosophy and Psychology
I have a double bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Psychology from Stockholm University and will shortly receive my master’s degree in Psychology, from the same institution. I work as a research assistant at the Institute for Futures Studies on projects related to how norms and moral values differ between groups and change over time.
I started out in philosophy because of an interest in political and moral philosophy. I later approached psychology to pursue these topics more empirically. In my master’s thesis I used machine learning to explore neurological correlates of consciousness. Moving into the field of the social impact of AI, I find it fascinating how new technology, and values and norms interact.
Talk to me about: Consciousness, Social Norm Change, Moral Philosophy
