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How can the public sector use AI ethically and responsibly for the benefit of people? The sustainable development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in the public sector requires dialogue and deliberation between developers, decision makers, deployers, end users, and the public. This paper contributes to the debate on how to develop persuasive government approaches for steering the development and use of AI. We examine the ethical issues and the role of the public in the debate on developing public sector governance of socially and democratically sustainable and technology-intensive societies. To concretize this discussion, we study the co-development of a Finnish national AI program AuroraAI, which aims to provide citizens with tailored and timely services for different life situations, utilizing AI. With the help of this case study, we investigate the challenges posed by the development and use of AI in the service of public administration. We draw particular attention to the efforts made by the AuroraAI Ethics Board in deliberating the AuroraAI solution options and working toward a sustainable and inclusive AI society.
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This content will become publicly available on March 1, 2026
Data Science and AI for Sustainable Futures: Opportunities and Challenges
Advances in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) offer unprecedented opportunities to provide actionable insights, drive innovative solutions, and create long-term strategies for sustainable development in response to the triple existential crises facing humanity: climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. The rapid development of AI models has been the subject of extensive debate and is high on the political agenda, but at present the vast potential for AI to contribute positively to informed decision making, improved environmental risk management, and the development of technological solutions to sustainability challenges remains underdeveloped. In this paper, we consider four inter-dependent areas in which data science and AI can make a substantial contribution to developing sustainable future interactions with the environment: (i) quantification and tracking progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; (ii) embedding AI technologies to reduce emissions at source; (iii) developing systems to increase our resilience to natural hazards; (iv) Net Zero and the built environment. We also consider the wider challenges associated with the widespread use of AI, including data access and discoverability, trust and regulation, inference and decision making, and the sustainable use of AI.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2330565
- PAR ID:
- 10645883
- Publisher / Repository:
- Sustainability
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Sustainability
- Volume:
- 17
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 2071-1050
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2019
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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