New technologies
How can we harness the advent of AI and new technologies to accelerate the route to a better world for all?
Positioning new technologies for good
The technological advancements made by humans over the past century are like no other 100-year period in history: artificial intelligence can write paragraphs such as this in a nanosecond; robots perform surgery that saves lives; automated drones deliver emergency packages during global crises; we can have a video call with relatives and friends thousands of miles away from a device in our pockets that also plays music, makes bank transfers and sets the heating in our homes.
But our wellbeing can be threatened by the very same technologies —whether in the form of new weapons of mass destruction, the emergence of cyberwarfare, fake news, or cultural degradation from the internet and social media.
The technologies humans have created can undermine what it is to be human, and with those very creators now cautioning about the inconceivable dangers that these unprecedented possibilities could bring, we must pay attention. The challenge before us is to figure out how to capture the upsides and opportunities offered to solve problems of democracy, political economy, climate, healthcare, and inequality, all while preventing or mitigating their use in ways that make these problems worse.
Ultimately, we need to utilise AI and new technologies to advance the future of work and to aid growth in its many dimensions.
How can we harness AI and new technologies for good?
If you would like to discuss how you could partner with us to shape our work on new technologies, contact us at shapingtheworld@lse.ac.uk.
Unlocking the potential of data and social sciences
LSE alumnus Stuart Roden pledges £3.7m to our Data and Science Institute (DSI). This gift will help embed data science across key areas of our work to confront the big societal challenges that hard data science and technology research alone cannot resolve.
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Developing new tools for text analysis
Research led by Professor Kenneth Benoit at LSE has underpinned the development of new and improved methods of text analysis for social science research. The project took a statistical approach to extracting information from texts – treating texts as data to be analysed rather than as text to be read.
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AI unlocking the potential of alumni
Ask an Alum is a new AI tool that enables LSE students and alumni to connect with each other to seek advice on a particular topic. The platform matches questions to alumni who are best placed to answer them.
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Shaping ideas for impact
Catalyse new thinking that harnesses the opportunities and mitigates the threats of AI and other new technologies.
Shaping transformative learning
Equip the innovators of the future to design and use technology that builds a better world for all.
Shaping our community
Our global LSE community working together to bring about change.