Our research and publications

Recent books, journal articles and research reports from the Centre's team

Highlighted Research: Working Paper #1

In summer 2024, a research team from University College London’s Department of Science and Technology Studies fielded a survey of AI researchers designed to understand their values, their visions for the future of AI, and what they though about the role of public voices in AI. Our survey included questions that had been asked in representative UK public surveys, to map overlaps and gaps between public and AI researchers’ views. We analysed the responses from 4,260 AI researchers, making it the largest survey of AI researchers to date.

Our report makes it clear that policymakers, journalists and others interested in the public debate on AI should seek more diverse views on AI. There is a wide range of views among those researching AI, but these are currently drowned out by the loud voices of a few powerful people. Some of these people lead AI companies, some are evangelists for the technology and some are self-proclaimed ‘experts’. Many of these people have direct financial interests in accelerating current AI trajectories and they are likely to downplay uncertainties about the technology. Our survey results support the hypothesis that ‘distance lends enchantment’ in AI. There is more uncertainty among the researchers who are closest to the technology. Our survey reveals that, beneath the surface, AI researchers have a range of hopes and fears about the technology that are broader and more complex than the public debate suggests. Click here to download the full report.

Add logos

 

The Centre's members leading and contributing to research projects of national and international scope over recent years. These include:

• Public Value Mapping for AI - (UKRI Metascience Programme)
• Public Voices in AI (RAI UK and The ESRC Digital Good Network)
• Gen AI - The AI Hub in Generative Models (UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
• RAI  - Responsible AI UK (UKRI)
• Continuing Professional Development Ecosystems (UKRI EMERGENCE Network +)
• One Ocean Hub (UKRI Global Challege Research Fund)
• Tomorrow's Cities (UKRI Global Challege Research Fund)
• Environmental impacts of digital services for health and wellbeing in the home (UKRI EPSRC)
• Empowering Future Care Workforces (UKRI Trustworthy and Autonomous Systems Hub)
• UK Pandemic Ethics Accelerator (UKRI Arts and Hummanities Research Council)
• Driverless Futures (UKRI Economic and Social Research Council)
• SISCODE -Co-design for society in innovation and science (European Commission)
• SCALINGS - Pathways and challenges for socially robust innovation in Europe (European Commission)
• RRI Tools (European Commission)

 

• Do national innovation projects shape citizens’ public health behaviours? Ansell, B., Bauer, M., Gingrich, J., & Stilgoe, J. (2024). Healthcare Management Forum, 37(6), 423–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/08404704241271159
• Socially-distanced science: How British publics were imagined, modelled and marginalised in political and expert responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ballo, R., Pearce, W., Stilgoe, J., & Wilsdon, J. (2024). Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03446-y
• Hearts and minds: The technopolitical role of affect in sociotechnical imaginaries. Hughes, S. (2024). Social Studies of Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/03063127241257489
• Balancing Risks and Opportunities: Data-Empowered-Health Ecosystems. Li, L., Bäck, E., Lee, S., Shipley, R., MAPITSE, N. J., Elbe, S., Smallman, M., Wilson, J., Yasin, I., Rees, G., Gordon, B., Murray, V., Roberts, S., Cupani, A., & Kostkova, P. (2024a).  Journal of Medical Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.2196/57237
• A UK Specification for Trusted Research Environments. Sood, H., Li, S., Machin, T., Oldfield, K., Chuter, A., Beggs, J., Coleman, S., Kerr, D., Chalstrey, E., Craddock, M., Madge, J., Sarmiento-Perez, D., Robinson, J., O’Donovan, C., O’Reilly, M., & Cole, C. (2024). International Journal for Population Data Science, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.23889/ijpds.v9i5.2609
• AI has a democracy problem. Citizens’ assemblies can help. Stilgoe, J. (2024). Science, 385(6711). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr6713
• Experiments outside the lab come with new responsibilities. Stilgoe, J. (2024).  Science, 386(6728). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adu7458
• Technological risks are not the end of the world. Stilgoe, J. (2024). Science, 384(6693). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp1175
• Ghost Work: Empowering the invisible labour behind artificial intelligence. Stilgoe, J., Evers, C., Soper, J., Khurana, M., & Mata, T. (2024). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4891800
• Public anticipations of self-driving vehicles in the UK and US. Tennant, C., Stilgoe, J., Vucevic, S., & Stares, S. (2024). Mobilities, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2024.2325386
• The geopolitics of technology standards: Historical context for US, EU and Chinese approaches. Zúñiga, N., Burton, S., Blancato, F., & Carr, M. (2024). International Affairs, 100(4), 1635–1652. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiae124

2023

• A collaborative research manifesto! An early career response to uncertainties. Barker, N., Pervez, A., Wahome, M., McKinlay, A., Al Haj Sleiman, N., Harniess, P., Puskás, N., Mac, D., Almazrouei, M., Ezenwajiaku, C., Isiwele, A., Tan, N., D’aprix, M., Petsou, A., & Soper, J. (2023). International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 26(5), 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2023.2173839
• Responsible Innovation of Touchless Haptics: A Prospective Design Exploration in Social Interaction. Cornelio, P., Hughes, S., Georgiou, O., Frier, W., Maunsbach, M., Vasudevan, M., & Obrist, M. (2023). 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581228
• University Campus Living Labs. Nyborg, S., Horst, M., O’Donovan, C., Bombaerts, G., Hansen, M., Takahashi, M., Viscusi, G., & Ryszawska, B. (2023). Science & Technology Studies. https://doi.org/10.23987/sts.120246
• Empowering future care workforces: Scoping human capabilities to leverage assistive robotics. O’Donovan, C., Caleb-Solly, P., Kumar, P., Russell, S., Sumpter, L., & Williams, R. (2023). 31, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1145/3597512.3600210
• Science to the Rescue? Smallman, M. (2023). Social Research: An International Quarterly, 90(1), 151–173. https://doi.org/10.1353/sor.2023.0006
• How are Research for Development Programmes Implementing and Evaluating Equitable Partnerships to Address Power Asymmetries? Snijder, M., Steege, R., Callander, M., Wahome, M., Rahman, M., Apgar, M., Theobald, S., Bracken, L., Dean, L., Mansaray, B., Saligram, P., Garimella, S., Arthurs-Hartnett, S., Karuga, R., Artieda, A., Chengo, V., & Ateles, J. (2023). European Journal of Development Research, 35(2), 351–379. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-023-00578-w
• Assessing responsible innovation training. Stahl, B., Aicardi, C., Brooks, L., Craigon, P., Cunden, M., Burton, S., de Heaver, M., de Saille, S., Dolby, S., Dowthwaite, L., Eke, D., Hughes, S., Keene, P., Kuh, V., Portillo, V., Shanley, D., Smallman, M., Smith, M., Stilgoe, J., … Webb, H. (2023). Journal of Responsible Technology, 16, 100063–100063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrt.2023.100063
• Viral Suppression. Stilgoe, J. (2023). Issues in Science and Technology, 29(3), 43–46. https://doi.org/10.58875/yauv7609
• We need a Weizenbaum test for AI. Stilgoe, J. (2023). Science, 381(6658). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk0176
• What does it mean to trust a technology? Stilgoe, J. (2023). Science, 382(6676). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adm9782
• Providing ethics advice in a pandemic, in theory and in practice: A taxonomy of ethics advice. Wilson, J., Hume, J., O’Donovan, C., & Smallman, M. (2023). Bioethics, 38(3), 213–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13208

2022

• Socially-distanced science: How British publics were imagined, modelled and marginalised in political and expert responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ballo, R., Pearce, W., Stilgoe, J., & Wilsdon, J. (2022). https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/jc82q
• Exploring the politics of science communication research: Looking at science communication from a social justice perspective. Dawson, E., Hughes, S., Lock, S., & Wahome, M. (2022). Journal of Science Communication, 21(07), C05–C05. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.21070305
• Accountability and neglect in UK social care innovation. O’Donovan, C. (2022). International Journal of Care and Caring, 7(1), 67–90. https://doi.org/10.1332/239788221x16613769194393
• Responsible innovation as a vehicle for teaching ethical and social dimensions of technology. Roach, K., Tilley, E., Nyamapfene, A., Smith, M., & Hughes, S. (2022). 2232–2235. https://doi.org/10.5821/conference-9788412322262.1468
• Multi Scale Ethics—Why We Need to Consider the Ethics of AI in Healthcare at Different Scales. Smallman, M. (2022). Science and Engineering Ethics, 28(6). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-022-00396-z
• Economic Inequality and Science, Technology and Innovation Policy: The cases of the United Kingdom and South Africa. Smallman, M., & Beumer, K. (2022). https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/rgm85
• The politics of autonomous vehicles. Stilgoe, J., & Mladenović, M. (2022). Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01463-3
• Transdisciplinarity in transformative ocean governance research—Reflections of early career researchers. Strand, M., Ortega‐Cisneros, K., Niner, H., Wahome, M., Bell, J., Currie, J., Hamukuaya, H., La Bianca, G., Lancaster, A., Maseka, N., McDonald, L., McQuaid, K., Samuel, M., & Winkler, A. (2022). ICES Journal of Marine Science, 79(8), 2163–2177. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsac165

2021

• The politics of scaling. Pfotenhauer, S., Laurent, B., Papageorgiou, K., & Stilgoe, J. (2021). Social Studies of Science, 52(1), 3–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/03063127211048945
• Public Trust, Deliberative Engagement and Health Data Projects: Beyond Legal Provisions. Bharti, N., O’Donovan, C., Smallman, M., & Wilson, J. (2021). Engaging Science Technology and Society, 7(1), 125–133. https://doi.org/10.17351/ests2021.1197
• What is robotics made of? The interdisciplinary politics of robotics research. Michalec, O., O’Donovan, C., & Sobhani, M. (2021). Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00737-6
• Capabilities for transdisciplinary research. O’Donovan, C., Michalec, O., & Moon, J. (2021). Research Evaluation, 31(1), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvab038
• How can we know a self-driving car is safe? Stilgoe, J. (2021). Ethics and Information Technology, 23(4), 635–647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-021-09602-1
• Rejecting acceptance: Learning from public dialogue on self-driving vehicles. Stilgoe, J., & Cohen, T. (2021). Science and Public Policy, 48(6), 849–859. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scab060
• Code, Culture, and Concrete: Self-Driving Vehicles and the Rules of the Road. Tennant, C., Neels, C., Parkhurst, G., Jones, P., Mirza, S., & Stilgoe, J. (2021). Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2021.710478
• The attachments of ‘autonomous’ vehicles. Tennant, C., & Stilgoe, J. (2021). Social Studies of Science, 51(6), 846–870. https://doi.org/10.1177/03063127211038752