Algorithms for What? Encoding the relevance of Artificial Intelligence in the practices, norms, values and scientific systems

Funder: São Paulo Research Foundation | Timeline: 2026-2031 |  FAPESP Young Investigator Award

Principal Investigator: Renan Leonel da Silva, Department of Sociology, University of São Paulo, Brazil

The decision to adopt or co-develop AI for scientific research and knowledge discovery depends on dynamic arrangements among technical, material, and human factors. Although AI promises greater efficiency and analytical power, its integration into laboratory work raises urgent questions about objectivity, trust, ethics, and the reproducibility of scientific knowledge. These values are not simply inherited; they must be continuously negotiated, encoded, and sustained through collective decisions and institutional norms. This project investigates how AI systems are reshaping core values, norms, policies, and practices within scientific research laboratories. Drawing on the literature from Science and Technology Studies (STS), this project proposes a sociotechnical approach to studying how the sciences are shaped by negotiation, institutional values, access to technology, and the dynamic interaction between humans and machines. Click here for more info.

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