Artificial intelligence in sociology and social policy

Purpose Artificial intelligence is reshaping social policy in creative and novel ways but current social policy has tended to lag behind emerging technological debates that have limited its applicability. Drawing on artificial intelligence discourses, this article links the topic of artificial intelligence to social policy to ensure it stays relevant and ahead of technological change. Design/methodology/approach This article reviews the literature by placing importance on obtaining both positive and negative reviews of artificial intelligence in order to gain more insight into this innovative technology. Findings This article finds that artificial intelligence can have good and bad outputs depending on how it is used in society as it is a productive but also destructive technology that needs to be regulated. The results of the article highlight how research on artificial intelligence has proliferated exponentially in recent years due to the popularisation of new technology but an increased emphasis on social policy and sociology is required. Originality/value To fully understand the reason for widespread discussion of artificial intelligence, it is necessary to delve deeper into the challenges of artificial intelligence in social policy circles which is currently untested in the literature. Current research specifically on artificial intelligence and social policy is fragmented due to the challenges of integrating the topics, which means new thinking is required. The value of this article is to link the topics of artificial intelligence and sociology specifically to social policy in order to derive new research avenues.