Conceptualizing IT Artefacts for Policymaking – How IT Artefacts Evolve as Policy Objects

Information technology (IT) related policymaking is an increasingly important topic in the Information Systems (IS) literature. Despite its significance, the challenges inherent in policymaking, stemming from the multifaceted nature of IT, remain poorly understood. This paper explores how an IT artefact evolves as a policy object throughout a 4.5-year public policy cycle centered on the Finnish Taximeter Law. We make two contributions. As a theoretical contribution, we provide a conceptual framework for understanding the IT artefact as a policy object. This framework identifies three forms of the artefact: a mental construct, a policy text, and a material IT artefact. Additionally, we propose a distinction between IT artefacts at the policy level and IT artefacts as real-world technologies. Second, we shed light on the challenges of translating multifaceted, real-world IT artefacts into abstract policy texts and subsequently reinterpreting these texts back into actionable, real-world technologies. Specifically, we enhance the understanding of the dynamics involved in public policymaking concerning IT artefacts. We reflect on the practical implications of our research by drawing on the case of “artificial intelligence as policy object” in the context of the European AI Act. Our findings thus hold implications for both IS researchers and policymakers.