When algorithms decide for us

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more powerful and is used for increasingly complex tasks. This raises ethical questions, for instance, when AI is used to make decisions for or judge people. A team of Empa researchers was involved in a new TA-SWISS study, which examined the opportunities and risks of AI for society. The study results were made public on 15 April 2020. Artificial intelligence is a very powerful tool for solving complex problems and handling huge amounts of random data. Its use allows to translate languages far better than ever before or to defeat human opponents in strategy games of various kinds. AI is constantly being improved and used for more and more activities that could previously be performed only by humans, such as identifying tax fraud or diagnosing diseases.