“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” ~ Fred Rogers
Solutions Scholarship in AI is a research methodology developed by Dr. Nathan C. Walker at the AI Ethics Lab at Rutgers University. It prioritizes identifying, curating, and implementing actionable strategies to address the ethical and legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence. This approach asserts that ethical AI research must not only interrogate and critique AI but also commit to identifying at least three potential solutions for every problem analyzed, embedding solutions-focused research into every stage of the AI lifecycle.
Two schools of thought inspire solutions scholarship: positive psychology and solutions journalism. Positive psychology shifts focus from past traumas to character strengths and virtues, empowering individuals to optimize their everyday functioning and contribute to the study of human flourishing. Similarly, solutions journalism encourages news organizations to go beyond merely reporting societal problems, urging them to investigate who, what, and how people are working to promote healthy social systems. Drawing from these perspectives, solutions scholarship reframes AI ethics—not merely emphasizing risks and failures but showcasing innovations and frameworks that can prevent them.
Solutions Scholarship in AI involves four key steps:
- Interrogate: Critically analyze, measure, and assess the harms and risks AI poses or could pose.
- Generate: Explore helpful interventions and practices that mitigate those harms through an intellectually honest, creative, and generative inquiry.
- Evaluate: Design research protocols to assess the effectiveness and limitations of proposed solutions, emphasizing the practical impact on ethical practices and policy development.
- Innovate: Focus the field on experimenting with and investing in solutions that inspire optimism and drive innovation.
The goal of solutions scholarship in AI is to shift the narrative from predominantly critical discourse to a balanced, constructive, and empowering conversation. It seeks to emphasize not just what we are against but also what we are striving toward. By doing so, solutions scholarship creates a generative research agenda that meaningfully contributes to educating the public about the moral issues of our time.