This research examines the interdisciplinary construct of empowerment in the context of decision-making with AI. Its findings are targeted to contribute to the development of a democratic AI-system designed for citizen decision-making support. Under the large NWO-funded "DECIDE" project, this research provides evidence for the importance of empowering, transparent AI, and a basis for designing such a system.
Central to this project is demystifying the broad term of "empowerment", commonly used across many fields of social sciences. This project utilizes a multidisciplinary approach through scoping reviews of the empowerment literature, qualitative research via focus groups and interviews, measurement development, and field as well as simulation studies. It looks to uncover the antecedents and consequences of empowerment in the context of AI. It examines empowerment both at the individual and structural level, distinguishing between the related phenomena of what it means for AI-based decision-making to be "empowering" and the experience of "being empowered". The research conducted in this project contributes to the theoretical foundations of practical empowerment, and aims to translate the concept into applied contexts, such as healthcare, mobility, and social issue management.
