Gothenburg research group with Rolf Heckemann studying lack of trust in artificial intelligence

Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation has granted SEK 96 million to be shared by 16 research projects at nine universities and institutions around Sweden studying the impact of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems on our society and our behaviour.

The project Professional Trust and Autonomous Systems led by Professor Jonas Ivarsson at the University of Gothenburg received SEK 6 million during 5 years. In this project, the researchers will be looking at how AI and so-called autonomous systems can be integrated into different parts of the society. They will focus mainly on the medical field, where major changes are expected to take place in the coming years.

Most of us believe that artificial intelligence has the potential to contribute to a better society, but at the same time it brings worries to many people. If people lack trust in artificial intelligence, systems that are based on these new technologies may be hard or even impossible to implement, and may not be as successful. By looking at how distrust can be transformed into trust, the research team wants to gain insights on how we should handle these concerns about AI and so-called autonomous systems in a successful way.

Other project members at the University of Gothenburg are Göran Bergström, Magnus Båth, Thomas Hillman, Åse Johnsson, Åsa Mäkitalo and the MedTech West professor Rolf Heckemann, expert in image analysis.

The project is a part of the national research programme WASP-HS, where the abbreviation HS stands for humanities and society. The research programme was initiated by Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation and Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation and encompasses a total of SEK 660 million over ten years. The programme will primarily analyse the ethical, economic, social, legal and labour market aspects that may be entailed by the ongoing technological shift in society. WASP-HS will also have a national graduate school with up to seventy doctoral students, at least ten new research groups, twelve visiting professors and a number of research projects.