Petra Ahrweiler is Professor of Sociology of Technology and Innovation, and Social Simulation at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. She has received various research awards and has gained many years of experience in the coordination and implementation of international, especially European, research projects. She publishes interdisciplinary articles in international journals and is an appointed member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering acatech and of AcademiaNet, the network of excellent female researchers in Germany. She currently holds the position of President of the European Social Simulation Association (ESSA). In the AI FORA research project, she is currently investigating the use of artificial intelligence in awarding social services in the context of ten country case studies. The central question here is: How are culturally specific values technologically embedded and can the automation of a value decision take into account the perspectives of all stakeholders? 

Key messages

(1) Addressing climate change requires the development of new technologies. Technological innovation should always be understood as a social transformation process.

(2) Finding sustainability strategies and preventing uncontrollable climate change are not only European but global challenges. Above all, taking into account the different underlying societal value systems is crucial to finding solutions.

(3) Every political decision changes society in ways that cannot be foreseen. For example, a measure to reduce CO2 emissions in a complex societal context may produce a fundamentally different outcome than anticipated. Simulation methods allow different measures to be tested and possible scenarios in a sandbox society to be analysed.