AI governance in the public sector: Three tales from the frontiers of automated decision-making in democratic settings

The rush to understand new socio-economic contexts created by the wide adoption of AI is justified by its far-ranging consequences, spanning almost every walk of life. Yet, the public sector's predicament is a tragic double bind: its obligations to protect citizens from potential algorithmic harms are at odds with the temptation to increase its own efficiency - or in other words - to govern algorithms, while governing by algorithms. Whether such dual role is even possible, has been a matter of debate, the challenge stemming from algorithms' intrinsic properties, that make them distinct from other digital solutions, long embraced by the governments, create externalities that rule-based programming lacks. As the pressures to deploy automated decision making systems in the public sector become prevalent, this paper aims to examine how the use of AI in the public sector in relation to existing data governance regimes and national regulatory practices can be intensifying existing power asymmetries. To this end, investigating the legal and policy instruments associated with the use of AI for strenghtening the immigration process control system in Canada; “optimising” the employment services” in Poland, and personalising the digital service experience in Finland, the paper advocates for the need of a common framework to evaluate the potential impact of the use of AI in the public sector. In this regard, it discusses the specific effects of automated decision support systems on public services and the growing expectations for governments to play a more prevalent role in the digital society and to ensure that the potential of technology is harnessed, while negative effects are controlled and possibly avoided. This is of particular importance in light of the current COVID-19 emergency crisis where AI and the underpinning regulatory framework of data ecosystems, have become crucial policy issues as more and more innovations are based on large scale data collections from digital devices, and the real-time accessibility of information and services, contact and relationships between institutions and citizens could strengthen – or undermine - trust in governance systems and democracy.     

基于神经网络方法的建筑工程投标估价研究

以招标件业主对工程质量、价格与工期的需要，及其所要求的技术、管理、服务三大目标为主导，投标公司据此相应地以人才为本，创新技术、管理与企业化，制定出技术上先进、经济上合理、社会上可行的三类方案，以分别实现业主要求的三大目标，从而保证中标。在估价过程中运用神经网络的方法，对最佳报价进行研究分析。     

Innovation patterns and policy implications of ADSL penetration in Korea: A case study

Korea has been leading the world in broadband Internet access services since 1999. Based on an in-depth case analysis of the penetration of asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) in Korea, the present study explores the patterns of decision making and interactions among key innovation actors, such as the government, Internet service providers, equipment providers, and content providers, using a conceptual framework wherein models of innovation systems and decision making under uncertainty are combined. The results revealed that the Korean government played a pivotal role in the creation of the ADSL-based Internet service market by providing a strong vision for this emerging service, building a coalition among various key actors, and stimulating initial market needs and supply of necessary equipment during the early period of higher uncertainty. As the level of uncertainty decreased with market evolution, however, the role of industrial actors and their market competition became more important to the rapid growth of the ADSL market. Based on these findings, policy and managerial implications are proposed.     

Consumers’ collision insurance decisions: a mental models approach to theory evaluation

Using interviews with 74 drivers, we elicit and analyze how people think about collision insurance coverage and decide whether to buy coverage, and if so, what deductible level to carry. We compare respondents’ judgments and behaviors to predictions of three models: baseline expected utility (EU) theory, which predicts that insurance is an inferior good, meaning more wealthy people buy less; a modified EU model, which incorporates income constraints and suggests that property insurance is a normal good, meaning more wealthy people buy more; and a mental accounting model which predicts that consumers budget income across consumption categories. The results suggest they purchase insurance as a normal good, guided by a cognitive model that emphasizes budget constraints. Verbal reports reveal a desire to balance two conflicting goals in deductible decisions: keeping premiums ‘affordable’ and keeping deductible level ‘affordable.’ Thus, wealth does not distinguish people by risk aversion, but by ability to pay. In other words, the behavior of less wealthy people is not driven by greater risk aversion, but by their lesser ability to pay, both now and later. We find that a simple heuristic using only vehicle value accounts for most decisions of whether to purchase optional collision coverage: out of 45 respondents who did not have loans on their vehicles, 90% of those with vehicles worth more than $1000 carried collision coverage, while less than 30% of those with lower‐valued vehicles did.     

Sources of Selection in Strategy Making

This paper elaborates theory inductively by following the evolution of 14 strategic initiatives from an exploratory case study. The study examines the context and character of such initiatives over an 8‐year period. Based on these initiatives, the paper proposes a two‐stage selection mechanism for the intra‐evolutionary strategy process that explains the long‐term mutation of organizations. The mechanism operates by selecting according to both fit with the strategic intent and feasibility of the initiative. These two elements combine into an organizational principle that is perceived as permanent in character but mutates through constructive confrontation. This principle contributes to the organizational identity but, being a low‐level element of such identity, it can be modified through learning while retaining an attribute of endurance as perceived by organizational members.     

基于区间二型模糊集的VIKOR多属性决策方法研究

针对传统VIKOR方法不能处理不确定语言信息的缺陷,本文在VIKOR方法的基础上提出了一种基于区间二型模糊的VIKOR扩展方法用于解决多属性决策问题。首先介绍了区间二型模糊的概念、运算法则,接着定义了一种新的计算区间二型模糊集之间的距离公式,在此基础上提出基于区间二型模糊的VIKOR扩展方法。最后,通过一个算例说明该方法的有效性和合理性。     

模糊多属性决策理论在供应链绩效评价中的应用

有效的供应链绩效评价是企业在当今日益激烈的竞争中得以生存的保证。如何建立科学、全面的供应链绩效评估体系,是当今供应链中核心企业面临的严峻挑战。根据变量与尺度的不同,模糊环境下的供应链绩效模式可分为六个模式。同时,介绍了其他供应链绩效评价方法(模糊层次分析法、数据包络分析法)的最新发展。最后,提出了当前供应链绩效评价存在的问题以及今后的研究发展方向。     

高息委托借款与企业盈利能力研究——以盈余持续性和价值相关性为视角

从高息委托贷款活动不可持续性、项目风险性等特点出发,讨论了这类活动对企业会计信息质量的影响。研究发现,高息委托贷款存续期间的企业有着较低的盈余持续性。进一步分析表明,较低盈余持续性主要来源于营业利润持续性较低。同时盈余价值相关性分析显示,高息委托贷款组的企业,营业利润的价值相关性较低,营业外利润并没有更高的价值相关性,以上证据说明,对于投资者而言,高息委托贷款的收益并未带来实质上对企业股价看法的改变。     

The Bribery Paradox in Transition Economies and the Enactment of ‘New Normal’ Business Environments

We develop a novel, sense-making perspective on corruption in transition economies. Prior research has focused on understanding why some entrepreneurs are more likely to pay bribes than others. It typically assumes that paying bribes will lead to an intended – albeit unfair – competitive advantage. We challenge this assumption and uncover a bribery paradox: drawing upon sense-making logic, we argue that beyond gaining an immediate benefit from bribing, entrepreneurs who frequently pay bribes may in the longer run be enacting a ‘new normal’ business environment perceived as high in obstacles, especially in transition countries. As sense making is grounded in identity construction and one’s social context, we argue that owners of family firms will be especially vulnerable to the dangers of perceiving greater obstacles over time and enacting an obstacle-ridden ‘new normal’ business environment. We find empirical support for our framework on a sample of 310 privately held small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 22 transition economies.     

Work-force cutback decisions of Israeli managers: a test of a strategic model

This study investigates the decision-making pattern of managers in the Israeli electronics industry. The purpose of the study is to examine whether decisions regarding work-force cutbacks in this industry follow Greenhalgh, Lawrence and Sutton’s (1988) model of work-force reduction. Their model proposes that such decisions are made incrementally and hierarchically, ranging from lay-offs with no severance pay (the most severe strategy for employees’ well-being), to hiring freeze (the least severe strategy for employees’ well-being). The study hypothesis was that cutback decisions of Israeli managers followed this hierarchy, and that the likelihood of the hierarchical decision- making pattern was increased in groups characterized by non-Israeli national affiliation, public sector affiliation, corporate guaranteed employment policy and employment of temporary labour. It was also hypothesized that these characteristics determined the point at which cutback decisions enter the cutback strategies hierarchy. The results of the present study showed that Israeli managers, unlike their American counterparts, generally have not followed this strategic model. However, in a sub-group analysis it was found that the incremental model was used in those organizations characterized by affiliation with the public sector, by use of temporary labour and by guaranteed employment policy. The only characteristic found significantly to determine the entering point in the cutback hierarchy was sectoralaffiliation. These findings are explained using four different theoretical approaches: (a) downsizing decision making (there is little evidence in literature of rational decision making under conditions of organizational stress); (b) cultural differences (Israeli managers, unlike their American counterparts are characterized by last-minute solutions and improvisations); (c) organizational context (the nature of the high-tech industry studied and its lack of downsizing experience); and (d) organizational politics (strong involvement of government and labour unions in the cutbacks process).