If we want public values at the heart of our research on responsible AI, we need to find ways to make space for citizen deliberation and include other stakeholders’ voices. This is obviously challenging, given that AI technologies have only recently entered most people’s consciousness, but we know from previous work on emerging technologies that, first, it can be done and, second, it can be valuable for innovators, regulators and others. For AI, there is a pressing need to develop policy instruments to secure benefits and mitigate harms. To contribute to policy, public attitudes research needs to enter early in the policy development cycle.
The range of issues (ownership, control, intellectual property, transparency, governance etc), types of AI (robotics, large language models etc) and applications (transport, health, creative industries etc) that public dialogue could cover is large. This working group will research, discuss and prioritise among these. The group will shape and commission small research initiatives and set a longer-term agenda for a groundbreaking public participation initiative.