Introduction to the special issue on AI systems for the public interest

AI systems have been promised to reduce CO2 emissions, monitor biodiversity, support accessibility, or help analyse human rights violations. They are often seen as a crucial part of the solutions needed in our times ranging from addressing the climate crisis, public health, to improvement of social services, or urban planning. We find the reference to artificial intelligence (AI) in many documents and debates of the policy realm, assigning it a strong potential to contribute to all these domains. AI for the public interest, and its close relatives, AI for (common or social) good, have become a common theme not only for tech companies, but also for political actors in the EU, including for instance international NGO networks. However, most often the definition of the public interest in the best case is limited to references to AI ethics. Yet, the practical meaning of what a good use of AI and a purpose “for good” entails in its development and implementation is unclear. What is often missing is an understanding that spells out in practice what it means for the process of development and deployment of AI systems to serve the public interest, let alone a holistic view on the conditions for AI to best serve the collective well-being.