This publication presents a synthesis of the results from FORSEE’s research across social expectations of AI among different stakeholder groups (work packages 2, 3, and 4). It maps how different groups articulate success in artificial intelligence in practice. The results draw on regulatory texts, standards, professional guidelines, interviews, workshops, surveys, public discourse, and judicial decisions. The research examines institutional bodies, small and medium-sized enterprises, civil society organisations, the media, and legal systems.
The analysis shows stakeholders share foundational requirements for technology deployment. Actors demand reliable system outputs to build public trust and expect frameworks that protect working conditions. A shared concern emerges around reducing European reliance on external infrastructure providers, alongside a weakly articulated recognition of environmental impacts. Groups conditionally support European regulation and the transition toward risk-based governance. They agree that rules must exist, but experience the practical implementation and compliance costs in contrasting ways.
Structural differences persist across specific domains, shaped by institutional roles and resource constraints. Press discourse, SMEs and CSOs deem digital sovereignty as a major goal, but social media users rarely engage with the idea. Groups experience innovation and regulation trade-offs from contrasting positions: SMEs side with the business-oriented press on the need to reduce compliance burdens, though not asserting that regulation constrains innovation per se, while civil society demands stronger democratic safeguards. Understandings of gender bias fracture, with developers treating it as a technical dataset error and CSOs framing it as systemic social inequality. Actors report distinct experiences regarding governance clarity, responsibility allocation, and rule enforcement across the technology lifecycle.
See the mid term policy brief for policy implications.
This publication can be downloaded from Zenodo. The publication hasn’t yet been reviewed and approved by the European Commission.
Author: Ann-Katrien Oimann
