Date and time: Wednesday 3 December 2025, 14:00 – 15:30 CET
Title: Digital Futures for Education: What happens to decision-making in the era of AI?
Where: Digital Futures hub, Osquars Backe 5, floor 2 at KTH main campus
Directions: https://www.digitalfutures.kth.se/contact/how-to-get-here/
OR participate on Zoom: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/69560887455
What happens to decision-making in the era of AI?
Intrigued by the increasing use of automated decision-making systems, particularly in everyday tasks within the public sector, we focus on mundane cases discussed in the academic literature and the public press. In this context, we find compelling arguments questioning the mantra of efficiency associated with AI in the public sector. Such arguments make us aware of a disconnect, a gap between a state of radical optimism fed by an unconditional faith in AI, and a matter of concern (Latour, 2003), seeking to understand the implications of AI for the people, those working with AI, and those affected by it, the citizens.
Join us in this conversation, which aims to inform and discuss views on trust, information, and expertise, as well as the frictions in the everyday use of AI for decision-making in the public sector.
Speakers
- Anne Kaun, Professor of media and communication studies at Södertörn University, Stockholm. She currently leads two interdisciplinary research environments focusing on Digital Vulnerabilities funded by the Swedish Research Council and one engaging with the AI welfare state funded by WASP-HS. Both groups explore questions around AI-related changes in welfare provision. Read more: www.annekaun.com
- Stefan Larsson, Associate Professor in Technology and Social Change, Lund University. As a lawyer and socio-legal researcher he leads a research group on AI and Society, focusing on social and normative implications of AI and adaptive technologies in both private and public domains, ranging from the public sector decision-making to mammography screening and social robotics. Read more: https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/stefan-larsson/
- Marcus Bräutigam is a Product Owner driving AI implementation at Skatteverket. He holds a PhD in biotechnology with additional studies in economics and previously founded the biotech company Crop Tailor, later acquired by Lantmännen. He currently supports data analysis and review efforts for the establishment of the new Welfare Payments Authority (Utbetalningsmyndigheten). Read more: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-bräutigam-7576975/
Moderator
- Nora Germundsson, Ph.D. Postdoc Fellow, Stockholm University. Read more: https://www.su.se/english/profiles/noge8242-1.258434?open-collapse-boxes=research-projects,research-publications
References: Latour, B. (2004). Why has critique run out of steam? From matters of fact to matters of concern. Critical inquiry, 30(2), 225-248.
Of interest:
- Högberg, C., Larsson, S. & Lång, K. (2024) Engagements with AI in breast cancer screening: Swedish breast radiologists’ views on matters of trust, information and expertise, Digital Health. DOI: 10.1177/20552076241287958, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20552076241287958
- Germundsson, N. (2024). Configuring social assistance: conceptualizations and implications of the adoption of robotic process automation in the Swedish personal social services. European Journal of Social Work, 28(3), 512–524. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2024.2421879
- Kaun, A. and Männiste , M.(2025). Public sector chatbots: AI frictions and data infrastructures for equality and human flourishing? New Media & Society, 27(4), 1962-1985. https://doi-org.10.1177/14614448251314394
- Liminga,A., Kaun, A. Lomborg, S. (2025). Aiming at a moving target: how to research the automation of welfare. In: Galis, V. & Vlassis, V. (eds.) Digitalization, Data and Welfare: Sociotechnical Approaches to Service Delivery. Edward Elgar, p. 25-36. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035338153
Questions? Please contact Teresa Cerratto Pargman, Associate Director Outreach, Digital Futures: tessy@dsv.su.se.
We invite you to be part of the conversation on digital transformation in education by suggesting topics and potential speakers to Teresa Cerratto Pargman, Associate Director Outreach, Digital Futures. Please send your suggestion to tessy@dsv.su.se. Write “Digital Futures Outreach” in the subject of your email.
Digital Futures for Education consists of conversations and events that bring together key actors from academia, civil society, and the private and public sectors. Its mission is to provide a colloquial space for discussion and reflection on the digital transformation in education and the role of universities in today’s complex societies. The goal is also to build a community with key national and international educational actors.
