Prof. Patrick Mikalef, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Beyond the Paper: Information Systems Research as Public Voice
Abstract
Many of the most pressing issues of our time are, at their core, questions about technology and society. These are exactly the questions information systems research has studied for decades. Policy is how societies respond to them, which means the decisions being made right now will shape how these technologies affect people for years to come. As a field with real evidence to offer, we should have a voice in that process, yet we rarely think of ourselves as contributors to it, and often overlook the significance our work could hold beyond academia. This talk examines the relationship between IS research and policy-making: why the connection is so often missed, the channels through which research actually reaches policy, and what separates research that informs policy from research that does not. The aim is not to offer a formula, but to open a conversation about the place our research could hold in the decisions that shape society.
Brief biography
Patrick Mikalef is a Professor in Data Science and Information Systems at the Department of Computer Science. In the past, he has been a Marie Skłodowska-Curie post-doctoral research fellow working on the research project “Competitive Advantage for the Data-driven Enterprise” (CADENT). He received his B.Sc. in Informatics from the Ionian University, his M.Sc. in Business Informatics for Utrecht University, and his Ph.D. in IT Strategy from the Ionian University. His research interests focus the on strategic use of information systems and IT-business value in turbulent environments. He has published work in international conferences and peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Business Research, British Journal of Management, Information and Management, Industrial Management & Data Systems, and Information Systems and e-Business Management.
Prof. Kai Riemer, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
When foundations shift: What Is AI, and why does It matter for IS to ask?
Abstract
What is AI? We all get to read and review dozens of papers researching the application of the technology. But how many of them detail what AI is and what is novel and different about it?
For most of our discipline’s history, we didn’t need to ask. Every new wave of ICT, whether networked, mobile or ubiquitous, rested on the same stable foundations. We could leave the technology in the background and get on with studying the individual, social, organisational, or societal implications. With AI that arrangement has changed.
Practically, AI does things computers aren’t supposed to do. It lacks accuracy, reliability, and predictability. It cannot be audited for risk like traditional IT systems. Its own developers can’t fully explain its inner workings and need to engage in empirical testing to work out capabilities of every new generation. When systems start surprising us, it’s a sign that our assumptions about computing no longer hold. But with a change in the technological foundations the theories we built for traditional IT artifacts might longer have purchase on emerging AI phenomena.
In this keynote, I will argue that we need to employ a far deeper conceptual understanding of AI than traditional ICT demanded of us for the past decades. Without it, we risk two category errors. One treats AI as just another IT artefact. The other treats it as something far more human than it is. Both lead to research built on shaky foundations.
With this new requirement come exciting new opportunities. By working out what is truly novel and different about AI, new questions and strands of research emerge. Getting AI right presents a significant opportunity for our discipline. But first, we must ask the question properly.
Brief biography
Kai is Professor of Information Technology and Organisation and Director of Sydney Executive Plus. He joined the University of Sydney in August 2009 from Münster University in Germany, where he held a position as Assistant Professor. He received his Diploma in Information Systems (Dipl. Wirt-Inform.) and his Ph.D. in Management from Münster University, Germany, where he also finished his Postdoctoral thesis (Habilitation). Kai’s expertise spans the fields of artificial intelligence, phenomena of disruption, collaborative systems, the future of work, emerging technologies, and the philosophy of technology. He has extensive experience with industry-funded research and projects funded by the Australian Research Council. Kai’s research follows practice theoretical and non-orthodox approaches and appears in journals such as MIS Quarterly, Journal of the AIS, European Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Information Technology, or Information Systems Journal. Kai is a board member of the Journal of Information Technology and the Business and Information Systems Engineering journal. Kai consults for executives and corporate boards and is frequently requested to comment, speak and consult on issues around (Generative) Artificial Intelligence, Digital Disruption, The Future or Business, and Social Media.