Artificial intelligence and social action: A techno-sociological contextualization

Jan-Felix Schrape

No 2025-03, Research Contributions to Organizational Sociology and Innovation Studies, SOI Discussion Papers from University of Stuttgart, Institute for Social Sciences, Department of Organizational Sociology and Innovation Studies

Abstract: This discussion paper contextualizes contemporary forms of artificial intelligence (AI) within the broader relationship between technology and society, and it compiles essential insights from the sociology of technology for interdisciplinary discourse. The paper begins with a concise overview of the history of artificial intelligence and situates AI within the co-evolution of technology and society. It then presents key perspectives on the interaction and distributed agency between humans and technology, identifying five fundamental levels of agency and relating these levels to the interplay of AI and social action. Throughout these considerations, it becomes evident that the expectations of human-technology interaction, as well as the concepts of intelligent technology, are continually evolving and contingent upon social change. Consequently, the development and diffusion of AI should not be viewed as a primarily technology-driven phenomenon but rather as a genuine socio-technological transformation process.

Date: 2025
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