Social Science
Social science is increasingly challenged by the overwhelming flood of information and misinformation, outdated economic models, and primitive methods for collective coordination. Innovative approaches—from AI-enhanced recommendation systems and digital tutors to decentralized governance and advanced simulation models—are needed to better understand human behavior, improve decision-making, and design more robust public institutions. Better epistemic infrastructure is needed to improve human reasoning, coordination, and truth-seeking.
R&D Gaps (9)
Limited Tools for Improving Individual, Social and Societal Epistemics in the Face of Misinformation
In an era of relentless information overload and pervasive misinformation—fueled by algorithms that prioritize fleeting engagement over meaningful value—we have the opportunity to reshape our digital spaces. By leveraging AI and more intentional design of social media spaces for epistemic improvemen...
As AI systems become the cornerstone of competitive advantage, they can inadvertently marginalize human roles and decision-making. The drive for efficiency and cost reduction may lead organizations to rely predominantly on AI, sidelining human judgment, creativity, and accountability. This dynamic r...
Our current systems for democratic participation are hindered by outdated platforms and tools that fail to scale with modern needs. Limited survey infrastructure, insecure voting methods, and under-informative deliberative tools restrict our capacity for informed, collective decision-making. By harn...
Policy development and evaluation processes today rely heavily on manual human review to ensure accountability. However, as AI systems increasingly support or automate these processes, this human-centered accountability becomes challenging. Human reviewers risk becoming a critical bottleneck, slowin...
The social sciences need new tools to help researchers identify and prioritize important questions that will have an impact, and better infrastructure to collect qualitative data. Qualitative methods are powerful for understanding the how and why behind social outcomes, yet even the most comprehensi...
Current education systems face structural inefficiencies such as excessive administrative workloads on educators, overcrowded classrooms, and inequitable resource distribution. Innovative technologies have the potential to significantly reduce these burdens by providing tools that assist teachers wi...
Current economic models are often too simplistic to capture the intricate dynamics of our global economy, limiting effective policy-making and forecasting. Experimentation with innovative economic models—such as those incorporating universal basic income or alternative market systems—is rare, leavin...
There exists a disconnect between academic research and the practical implementation of development economics, hampering the conversion of theoretical insights into effective real-world interventions. Current mechanisms for delivering public goods and fostering collective cooperation are inefficient...