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Editorial
Dear readers,
In today’s world, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly central role both in our private and professional everyday lives. It opens up new opportunities in almost all sectors, including social security. AI systems have the potential to make the provision of services and benefits more targeted, faster and more efficient. However, these opportunities are also accompanied by considerable risks. How much trust can we place in an AI whose decision-making processes we cannot always understand? Weighing up the opportunities and risks is therefore crucial.
ed* No. 02/2024 – Chapter 1
This issue is particularly relevant in the area of social insurance, where access to basic services and benefits is managed. People who are dependent on state support are often in a precarious position when dealing with the administrative bodies. The AI Act – the world’s first framework created by the European Union (EU) for regulating AI – argues in this way and emphasises the need to use these technologies with caution. Given the potential impact on people’s livelihoods, the EU categorises AI systems used in making decisions on benefits as high-risk.
This means that the AI systems used by social insurance institutions must fulfil the applicable legal requirements. At the same time, social insurance is also indirectly affected: AI applications in the areas of employment and health can, among other things, improve occupational safety and health through innovative assistance functions, or improve healthcare and reduce the burden on health insurance funds through early disease diagnosis. Nevertheless, improper applications can also lead to physical and mental stress, for example in the workplace. These aspects also need to be kept in mind as AI in social insurance is here to stay.
An open dialogue about what we expect from AI and its use is essential. We need to set social and political priorities and be clear about the objectives and criteria for the use of public funds. With the use of AI, we must ensure that we achieve trustworthy results and develop a clear understanding of values and their prioritisation in the provision of public services – and make these priorities transparent.
In this issue, we look at how the EU is trying to regulate the use of AI without overly restricting the new opportunities it offers. We also look at the first use cases with a special focus on how social insurance is affected and emphasise the importance of data quality and transparency.
We hope you find it an exciting and interesting read!
Yours faithfully,
Ilka Wölfle
Director