Considering normative problems in AI／IoT society: Computational social science and contemporary issues

Abstract

The “information society” that began in the second half of the 20th century reached a higher level in the 21st century. In today's society, not only high-performance computers and their networks can make society more efficient, but also artificial intelligence (AI) technology and IoT (Internet of Things) technology that connects everything in the world to the Internet at all times. But it has already deeply penetrated our lives.

Under such circumstances, the academic area that is now attracting attention is “Computational Social Science”. Computational social science is a complex human behavior that has been impossible until now by analyzing the large-scale social data acquired through a digital network that has been spread through advanced computational science. It aims to elucidate the social phenomena quantitatively and theoretically.

It is expected to open up new possibilities for elucidating the formation process of personal feelings, social norms, public opinion, etc., which has become a social problem in recent years, such as social division, weakening of social capital, and intolerance. The However, on the other hand, there is a fear that such a method will invite a monitoring society or improve the manipulation of information, and recursively expand the problems such as the division of society mentioned above.

This paper considers the normative problem of today's AI/IoT society where science as a tool to elucidate society and social dynamics are nested, using computational social science as a keyword.