As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in public administration, it is reshaping the way in which citizens experience the State. From cases being handled automatically to decisions made by algorithms, AI promises efficiency - but it also raises a fundamental question: who is accountable when decisions are delegated to machines?
This question is at the heart of AWARE, a new research project led by Professors Helene Ratner and Brit Ross Winthereik of DTU Management, supported by a generous grant from Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond (DFF).
Understanding accountability in the age of AI
AWARE examines how AI affects accountability relations between public institutions and the citizens they serve. As algorithms either inform or execute decisions within municipalities, the currently established norms around professional discretion and responsibility are challenged. The project investigates how accountability is practiced and experienced in these new settings - both by the citizens who are subject to these systems, but also by the public professionals behind the AI.
Drawing on perspectives from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Organization Studies, AWARE combines two complementary approaches:
- Ethnographic research into how professionals and citizens encounter and respond to AI in everyday administrative contexts.
- Collaborative future-probing workshops, where participants explore and articulate forms of knowledge and experience that are often excluded from conventional AI impact assessments.
Together, these methods should contribute to a context-sensitive conceptualization of “accountable AI” and ideally support the creation of an AI Accountability Framework for use in public-sector settings.
A collaborative international team
The project brings together an experienced and interdisciplinary team, besides Helene and Brit, Associate Professor Malte Ziewitz of Cornell University will join as visiting professor.
The advisory board consists of Copenhagen University’s Professor Hanne Marie Motzfeldt, Professor Daniel Neyland of the University of Bristol, and Dr. Marta Choroszewicz. The team’s combined expertise in digital governance, accountability, and organizational practice provides a strong foundation for developing new insights into how public institutions can engage with AI responsibly and transparently.
We are happy to congratulate Helene and Brit for being awarded this grant - and excited to see what results will come from the project in the coming years.
