<p><strong>The development of artificial intelligence is advancing at breakneck speed and is affecting more and more aspects of our society. While this presents opportunities, it also raises important ethical, legal, social, and economic questions. Within the NGF Call AiNed ELSA Labs, two new research projects have received funding that focus precisely on this area of tension: one in healthcare and one in the energy transition.</strong></p><p>The ELSA Labs are working on human-centered AI: AI that is not only technologically advanced but also aligns with public values, human rights, and societal needs. The knowledge and insights from these labs contribute to practical methods, frameworks, and guidelines for responsible AI application.</p><h1>Human-centered AI in specific domains</h1><p>The AiNed ELSA Labs conduct research within specific public and private applications. In doing so, ELSA aspects (ethical, legal, social, and economic) are fully integrated into the development and deployment of AI. The projects test and refine existing frameworks and develop new tools to ensure that AI truly serves people and the public interest.</p><h1>The funded projects</h1><ul><li>Value Alignment in Medical AI (VAMAI)</li><li>Principal Investigator: Karin Jongsma (UMC Utrecht)</li></ul><p>AI must align with the values of users (patients and healthcare professionals) to realize its benefits for medical practice. The Value Alignment in Medical AI (VAMAI) ELSA AI Lab therefore aims to align the development and implementation of medical AI with user values by employing a patient-driven, interdisciplinary, quadruple helix approach. The VAMAI ELSA Lab will analyze which values are relevant and gain insight into their relationship to trust in AI and to fairness. The findings will be translated into practical guidelines that can be widely applied in medicine.</p><ul><li>E3LSA AI Lab for Energy and Sustainability (AI4ES)</li><li>Principal Investigator: Thomas Hoppe (University of Twente)</li></ul><p>AI4ES aims to support responsible AI for smart energy management and sustainable innovation. The project contributes to both “AI for sustainability”—AI that contributes to sustainable practices—and “Sustainable AI”—AI with a reduced ecological footprint. It helps develop procedures that support organizations and investigates the impact of AI on energy systems, addressing environmental, economic, ethical, legal, and social challenges (E3LSA).</p><h1>Part of AiNed and the National Growth Fund</h1><p>The projects are part of the AiNed program, funded by the National Growth Fund and implemented by the AI Coalition for the Netherlands (AIC4NL). With an investment of €204.5 million, AiNed stimulates the development and application of responsible AI within companies, governments, and knowledge institutions. In this way, work is being done to establish a strong, sustainable, and future-proof AI position for the Netherlands.</p>

Two new ELSA Labs strengthen responsible AI in healthcare and energy